In recent months, several developments have fostered renewed hope that a political settlement with the Taliban could be reached, bringing an end to the 18-year war in Afghanistan. For years, the peace process has not been succeeded to make any headway as Taliban have made contradictory demands from both the Afghan government and the US.
In December 2018, the government announced a 12-member negotiating team for peace talks with the Taliban, but some politicians criticized government’s peace negotiation team, saying the members were fully government officials and no influential and political figures included.
Considering such claims, the Presidential Palace on Saturday said it had asked politicians to share a list of individuals with the government for consideration in its peace negotiating team.
Presidential spokesman in a video clip to media said the Afghan government assessed the whole peace process before announcing its negotiating team and that was the reason the government made the team open to changes to be more effective. “Work on necessary changes or expanding the negotiating team is underway.”
Haroon Chakhansori said the government had talked and consulted with politicians and different classes of the society and had asked them to share their own list of individuals who could play a better role in peace negotiations so the government could consider them as part of its negotiating team with the Taliban.
Indeed, the direct talk between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban is essential to address the ongoing insecurity and bloodshed. Both sides of the negotiations should be Afghans as the two sides of conflict and disputes are them, however the process should include a discussion of the role of international community, particularly the US as the key Afghan partner who so far provided support, facilitated and participated in the discussions.
Neither the government nor the people of Afghanistan are willing to have a peace talk with the meddling of other countries and in the direction of the aliens, but the international partners who have so far provided aids, cooperation and other means for the Afghan people, even they have supported the country’s security and defense forces during the years of counter-terrorism conflicts, should never be ignored, and they are required too to honestly cooperate and facilitate mre the talks.
Peace, which is the only wish of the war-hit Afghan nation, should be achieved based on an intra-Afghan dialogue and the Taliban, if they want to give up arm and work for the country’s national interests, should join a direct talk with the elected system, as the main representative of the people, sans those countries seeking their own interest in a destabilized Afghanistan.
The government of Afghanistan has already shown its willingness towards durable peace in the country, and the national unity government leaders have time and again called upon Taliban to join the process and kept open the doors to them without any preconditions.
Thereforw, an inclusive negotiation team which represent all strata of the society should be formed for talks with Taliban. The government and people of Afghanistan are impatiently waiting for peace and security and want a permanent end to the long conflict, mayhem and chaos in their country—but through a comprehensive Afghan led dialogue, not via aliens who see only their own interests, rather the Afghan nation ones.
Inclusive peace negotiation team essential
