The peace agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban leadership last year in Doha, Qatar’s capital, after 10 rounds of negotiations included four general issues: The Taliban group guaranteed that terrorist networks would not use Afghanistan to wage attacks against the United States and its allies; the US and its allies would withdraw all their troops from the five bases in Afghanistan; dialogue between the Taliban and the Afghan government would start in Qatar; and a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire would be discussed between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The Taliban delegation sat at the negotiating table with the representatives of the Afghan government, but turned down the constant offers for declaration of ceasefire and intensified their attacks against the Afghan soldiers. Lately, the Taliban walked away from the Doha peace table as the Biden administration decided to review the Trump-Taliban peace agreement.
Meanwhile, regional stakeholders are seeking to put their weight behind the Afghan peace process as Russia hosted a conference on the process and another conference is going to be held in Turkey.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken floated several proposals in a letter to Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, calling for bringing the two sides together for a UN-facilitated conference with foreign ministers and envoys from Russia, China, Pakistan, India, Iran, and the US “to discuss a unified approach to supporting peace in Afghanistan.” Meanwhile, it stresses for holding talks between the Taliban group and the Kabul administration in a senior-level meeting in Turkey in the coming weeks, which is aimed at working out a revised proposal for a 90-day reduction in violence. Blinken also said before the Congress that Washington would minutely examine the talks, to understand the commitments made by the Taliban and observe to what extent the Taliban had made progress in dialogue with the republic team. He further indicated that Washington would end the so-called war permanently and withdraw its forces, but would retain a capacity to prevent the re-organization of terrorists.
In Moscow meeting, the Taliban and the Afghan government to accelerate peace talks. Russian, China, Pakistan, and the US called on warring sides to reach an immediate ceasefire. Those countries also stressed that they “do not support the restoration of the Islamic Emirate”. The Taliban were also called to not pursue a spring offensive.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai praised the Moscow meeting, saying it was well-prepared and let the sides have open talks on the most acute problems. He said that the Moscow meeting showed that the major world powers got together on Afghanistan, so there was an environment of cooperation, and that is what Afghanistan needs.
He said, “Istanbul meeting is an intra-Afghan dialogue, just like we had in February 2019 in Moscow. It will be the nature of the conference in Istanbul. We must go there with prior preparations, understandings, and agreements on issues.”
Istanbul meeting is highly significant for Afghanistan. Regional and global stakeholders have to pressure the Taliban to honor their deal and declare ceasefire in order to create conducive environment for signing peace agreement with the Afghan government.
Afghan officials, including first vice president Amrullah Saleh, made it clear that peace talks should not violate the Constitution and fundamental rights of the people of Afghanistan, mainly those of women. The world also does not support Islamic Emirate, which is likely to curtail women’s freedoms and violate their rights. The United Nations, US, and regional stakeholders have to support the gains made within the last couple of decades, constitutional principles, democratic values and elections. In short, the Taliban have to enter the system through legitimate means. Giving further concessions to the Taliban means underestimating the sacrifices of the Afghan people made in the past two decades.
The team going to attend the Istanbul meeting has to be inclusive not selective. Women and representatives from civil society should be included in the team.
The Istanbul meeting seems to be a make-it-or-break-it conference. If the Taliban do not accept declaration of ceasefire and continue bargaining for higher prices, the outcome is unlikely to be successful. Worst, if this meeting is failed, the horrible consequences are predictable and the violence will surge.
The Taliban have still not honored their deal with Washington. In the upcoming meeting in Turkey, the Taliban have to guarantee that they will honor the Doha peace agreement, declare ceasefire, and will respect the rights and freedoms of all individuals in Afghanistan on the basis of the Constitution. Claiming the lion’s share in the future government by the Taliban will not be acceptable to the Afghan people.