Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Saturday, March 30th, 2024

Rabbani no More, who is Next?

All wars end in peace or at least they are supposed to. The end result to Afghan war is also peace. But it seems like for Afghanistan peace has stuck somewhere between the circles of power active in the region. More than thirty years of bloodshed has resulted in the grave disappointment among people regarding stability in their country.

The recent shocking killing of Burhan ud Din Rabbani, the head of High Peace Council (HPC), has further damaged the hopes for bringing peace to Afghanistan. Rabbani was appointed to lead the peace talk process because of his past background of involvement in Afghanistan politics as a closely-attached-to-Islam figure.

Reportedly, Rabbani himself was not satisfied with the methodology adopted to negotiate with the Taliban who have never said 'yes' to the wealth and position offers of Afghan government in return of abandoning to practice violence. However, Rabbani, with all the personal influence he had to lead the peace efforts, is no more alive. Who should be the next captain to the peace ship of Afghanistan?

There is no election system within the HPC. Therefore, the selection of its head would directly come from the presidential palace. The new head of HPC will be either somebody from inside HPC or the President Hamid Karzai will go for introducing any other public figure not already a member of the council.

But whoever will become the next head of HPC, should not repeat mistakes. He must put efforts to remove the pitfalls present in the HPC - lack of coordination, common point of view and clear policies, for example.

Domestic and foreign expectations are high from the peace council. After ten years of international military involvement in Afghanistan, today it is maintained that the war in Afghanistan has no military solution and has to be settled through a political way.

HPC has been formed to make the same practical. But solid challenges are being faced by the peace process as the Taliban exhibit rigidness by denying possibility of talks with current Afghan administration.

They have signaled their refusal both in words and in action. The new head of HPC will really have crucial responsibilities to perform.