President Hamid Karzai has held secret meetings with Taliban over the past two months, NY Times reported on Tuesday. Karzai’s spokesman has termed the meetings as positive while other officials quoted by the paper have said these talks have been fruitless. The President must deem it a success. His recent Taliban-favorite statements and policies have born some fruits. At least the Taliban are meeting him in secret if not in public. But there is no need to be overly optimistic.

Historically, the Taliban have always betrayed their rivals in the name of peace negotiations. In 1990s, they invited certain Mujahidin leaders for peace talks. But those who went to talk to them came back dead and tortured. It has been established that the Taliban should never be trusted. Those who trust them will always be at loss.

For a couple of times, they have harmed the Afghan government too in the name of peace negotiation. A suicide bomber disguised as Taliban peace envoy killed Head of High Peace Council (HPC) Burhanuddin Rabani on September 20, 2011. In December 2012, ex-Chief of National Directorate of Security (NDS) was critically injured in same kind of tactic by Taliban. Over the past three years, certain high profile members of HPC have been murdered by them.

Taliban also killed Hamid Karzai’s father Abdul Ahad Karzai in July 1999 and his brother Ahmad Wali Karzai in June 2011. Over the past two decades, the Taliban have massacred thousands of innocent Afghans.

Despite all these, President Karzai has never given up calling Taliban as his brothers and inviting them to negotiation table. This signals that for nudging the Taliban into peace talks, he can go beyond any limit.

President Hamid Karzai has only a few months before he will be replaced by a new president. Therefore, he might do his outmost to favor the so-called peace negotiations. This is indicated by the fact that he has been releasing Taliban prisoners quite speedily over the past few months and has been making statements and taking instances that are favorable to Taliban.  

Karzai’s secret negotiations with the Taliban should be no surprise. And it would be naïve if one expects such negotiations will succeed. Karza’s recent initiatives have boosted Taliban’s morale so much that they might be thinking of re-gaining power in Kabul.