Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Monday, December 2nd, 2024

Afghans Expectations from Doha Talks

The Intra-Afghan Peace talks will be resumed after a long stalemate. As the Taliban insisted to discuss the peace issues with senior Afghan leaders, the new Republic negotiators include some senior high level Afghan leaders including Mohammad Karim Khalili, Atta Mohammad Noor, Masoom Stanekzai, Batur Dostum, Fatima Gailani, Salam Rahimi and Sadat Naderi that would be chaired by Abdullha Abdullah.
Why the Intra-Afghan Peace Negotiations Have Failed Sofar
The Intra-Afghan Peace negotiations have often failed due to the hardening of positions. For example, the Taliban have advocated for a centralized system of government with a single sovereign leader acting under the guise of Sharia law. This system gives no role to the people as it monopolizes the power exclusively. There will be no elections and all decisions will be made by the single sovereign leader.
Before starting the Intra-Afghan talks Taliban announced they will not come to the negotiations table unless their more than five thousand prisoners are not released by the Afghan government based on the US and Taliban peace agreement. According to the peace deal which was signed in the absence of Afghan government, The U.S. had pledged to free up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners and begin to remove economic sanctions on top Taliban leaders.  As evidence show, most of these fighters joined Taliban and have been part of the violence increase in Afghanistan.
Now, Taliban have preconditioned for a ceasefire lasting just three-months to release seven thousand prisoners.
Why Taliban Announced Conditional Ceasefire
Taliban could capture about 120 districts across Afghanistan. Certain Neighboring countries of Afghanistan have provided the Taliban with advanced weaponry to help them fight Afghan forces and taking new areas. Currently, there are only about 10000 Pakistanis fighting alongside Taliban in Afghanistan. Taliban forces have been distributed in different parts of the country and many Taliban have been killed and wounded in the last months. As a result, they want to buy in time and need fresh troops to control and preserve the districts they have captured. To this end, they have announced a three-month ceasefire and demanding the removal of their leaders’ names from a United Nations blacklist while having no commitment to reaching a lasting peace deal to put an end to the de cades long conflict in the country.
The New Privilege of Afghan Government in the Talks
Taliban advances across the country had both negative and positive outcomes. The essential government services have been halted, and a large number of civil servants have been harmed, or displaced from their areas to provincial capitals in the districts recently seized by the terrorist group of Taliban. The Taliban either torched or destroyed 260 government buildings and assets in 116 districts.
Contrary to what Taliban leaders and the countries supported them claiming as Taliban has changed, the terrorist group has re-imposed many of the repressive laws and retrograde policies that defined its 1996-2001 rule in Afghanistan’s northeastern countryside; Women have been banned from going outside alone. Girls have been barred from attending school. They have forced the families to provide the list of the girls above 15 and widowers to marry Taliban fighters. They have also started target killings and kidnapping the influential figures as part of ethnic cleansing policy. 
The harsh behavior of the Taliban made the people to take guns against them. Public uprising is now expanding fast from the Northern Afghanistan to Southern Afghanistan and other areas. The public uprising forces are fighting alongside of the ANSDF in different parts of the country. They have been able to retake some geostrategic and geopolitics areas in Badakhshan, Sare Pul, Balkh, Takhar, Samngan, Bamyan, Ghazni, Qandaha, Badghis, Herat Parwan, Daikondi and other parts of the country. If they are provided sustainable political and weaponry supports, they will be able to turn the page against the Taliban and the pace of retaking the areas from Taliban will continue. Afghan government must benefit from the leverage of the public uprising in order to make Taliban to compromise. Releasing 7000 Taliban prisoners and the removal of their leaders’ names from a United Nations blacklist will be a strategic mistake by Afghan government in the peace talks before Taliban prove their commitment to a genuine peace.