Another initiative to bring peace to Afghanistan has just been launched. Unlike several previous attempts started locally, which sputtered and stopped mainly due to the difficulty in making Taliban agree to anything, the latest move carries more heft because some key players are involved. As the situation in Afghanistan worsens with an increase in fighting with Taliban, a peace initiative has become all the more urgent and imperative because any delay or failure in weakening Taliban or bringing them to the negotiating table could result in reversing the gains made by the US-led Nato forces in the country.
Delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US met in the Pakistani capital Islamabad yesterday to restart efforts to end nearly fifteen years of bloodshed in Afghanistan. The primary objective of the talks is to convince Taliban to come to the talks and give up violence, a really tough objective. The Taliban have been gaining in strength and confidence since the exit of Nato troops and this ‘progress’ makes it very onerous for Kabul and its allies to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table. Pakistani prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz has said preconditions are not attached to the start of the negotiation process, which is a wise strategy. Getting Taliban to the table itself is a difficult task and setting preconditions would make the talks a non-starter.
It’s time for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his allies to come up with a credible strategy on Taliban. The insurgent group is showing no signs of weakening, while Afghan forces have come under unmanageable pressure. In recent months, the Taliban have captured territory in the southern province of Helmand, and briefly seized the northern city of Kunduz. There were several suicide attacks in the capita and the Taliban are fighting with a renewed tenacity all over the country. The death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar had created some hope after it threw the group into disarray, but the splinter groups continued their attacks.
The participants in the latest initiative are sincere in their efforts, but it’s a tough and treacherous road ahead. The splinter Taliban group headed by Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund has dismissed any talks under the mediation of the United States or China or of Pakistan, though the main group is likely to respond positively. “We have a very clear-cut stance about peace talks: all the foreign occupying forces would need to be withdrawn,” Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, Rasool’s deputy, said.
There is no alternative to defeating Taliban in Afghanistan. If the talks fail, the major powers will have to come with a strategy that will see the end of this terrorist group.
Another initiative to bring peace to Afghanistan has just been launched. Unlike several previous attempts started locally, which sputtered and stopped mainly due to the difficulty in making Taliban agree to anything, the latest move carries more heft because some key players are involved. As the situation in Afghanistan worsens with an increase in fighting with Taliban, a peace initiative has become all the more urgent and imperative because any delay or failure in weakening Taliban or bringing them to the negotiating table could result in reversing the gains made by the US-led Nato forces in the country.
Delegates from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US met in the Pakistani capital Islamabad yesterday to restart efforts to end nearly fifteen years of bloodshed in Afghanistan. The primary objective of the talks is to convince Taliban to come to the talks and give up violence, a really tough objective. The Taliban have been gaining in strength and confidence since the exit of Nato troops and this ‘progress’ makes it very onerous for Kabul and its allies to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table. Pakistani prime minister’s foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz has said preconditions are not attached to the start of the negotiation process, which is a wise strategy. Getting Taliban to the table itself is a difficult task and setting preconditions would make the talks a non-starter.
It’s time for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his allies to come up with a credible strategy on Taliban. The insurgent group is showing no signs of weakening, while Afghan forces have come under unmanageable pressure. In recent months, the Taliban have captured territory in the southern province of Helmand, and briefly seized the northern city of Kunduz. There were several suicide attacks in the capita and the Taliban are fighting with a renewed tenacity all over the country. The death of Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar had created some hope after it threw the group into disarray, but the splinter groups continued their attacks.
The participants in the latest initiative are sincere in their efforts, but it’s a tough and treacherous road ahead. The splinter Taliban group headed by Mullah Mohammad Rasool Akhund has dismissed any talks under the mediation of the United States or China or of Pakistan, though the main group is likely to respond positively. “We have a very clear-cut stance about peace talks: all the foreign occupying forces would need to be withdrawn,” Mullah Abdul Manan Niazi, Rasool’s deputy, said.
There is no alternative to defeating Taliban in Afghanistan. If the talks fail, the major powers will have to come with a strategy that will see the end of this terrorist group.
