As the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) including Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China is going to have its meeting in Kabul, it is hoped that way for the fruitful negotiations between Taliban and Afghan government would be paved and soon both the parties would be on the table to settle down the conflict that has inflicted incalculable harm to Afghans and the region as a whole.

The first meeting of this group was held in Islamabad on January 11, 2016 where all the stakeholder agreed to settle down peacefully the conflict in Afghanistan. The delegations were led by Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hikmat Khalil Karzai, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Richard Olson and China’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Ambassador Deng Xijun.

In the meeting to be held in Kabul, the group would devise a roadmap to hold these talks between Taliban and Afghan government.

The importance of these talks is of prime importance as it is brokered by two important powers of the world, the United States and China. Both the countries have played important role in the affairs of Afghanistan in the last 15 years of democracy. Both the countries have great influence not only internationally but also on the regional powers associated with the long-standing Afghan problem. No talks or deal would be valid and feasible if it does not include or enjoy the support of these two regional powers. Similarly, the United States’ role in Afghanistan is very important as it is present in the country militarily at a number of military bases and extends aerial support for the Afghan military. Similarly, American government is the prime donor of Afghanistan to meet its expenses.

In the last few years, the role of china has also increased as it made efforts to hold meetings and conferences about Afghanistan to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan and to invite more active participation by the international community in developing the country. The Istanbul Process on Afghanistan was held in Beijing in 2014 and after that, a number of meetings have been held in China regarding Afghanistan. Behind the scene, it is also mentioned that China is stressing both Afghanistan and Pakistan to hold meetings with Taliban, as China is also the close friendly country of Pakistan.

However, these meetings were not much successful in past. In July last year, when the peace talks were in progress in Pakistan, the announcement by the Afghan government about the death of Mullah Omar disrupted the whole process and the talks were immediately rolled up. This resulted in a wave of severe bomb explosions and attacks in Afghanistan, especially in Kabul that left hundreds dead and injured.

However, all the stakeholders felt that the situation in Afghanistan would never improve militarily and it is necessary that both the Afghan government and Taliban should resume talks and settle down on the peaceful agreement.

 This need is much felt after the increasing insecurity in different parts of the country and the struggle of Afghan government and forces to contain the increasing activities of Taliban and Daesh in the country. After the talks failed in July, there came a wave of bomb explosions that left the country crippled and deprived Afghans of the hope about the future of the country. Due to this reason, thousands of Afghans started leaving the country, investment and economic activities started shrinking and general conditions of the country badly deteriorated. With all these, the activities of Taliban increased to an unprecedented level. Kunduz fell to Taliban and Taliban were able to capture a number of districts in many other provinces like Faryab, Badakhshan, Helmand, Herat, Nangarhar. In such circumstances, it was badly felt that country might fall into the hands of Taliban and the overall system of democratic government might collapse. However, Afghan forces were able to regain the control of Kunduz but it remains a fact that Taliban are exerting their full pressure to regain the control of the country.

At present, Taliban are busy in fighting Afghan security forces in number of places throughout country. The present scenario shows that, it would be very difficult to weed out Taliban from the country and it will inflict great harm on Afghans.

It is necessary that a round of talks should be initiated so that the loss of lives and property of Afghans should be halted and economic activities should be resumed in the country.

The first and foremost gain of these talks will be the ceasefire between Taliban and Afghan security forces. 2015 was one of the bloodiest years in the history of our democratic establishment when thousands of Taliban, security forces and common Afghans lost their lives or sustained injuries. At the same time, the worsening security conditions badly hurt the morale of common Afghans. According to a survey conducted by independent sources, the morale and hope of Afghans about the future of their country plummeted comparing to the previous years and it reached to the lowest in all these years. If the talks are initiated and ceasefire is achieved, it would not only provide suitable environment for the business activities but it will also help in reviving the morale of common Afghans about the future of their country and we can hope a better future in such circumstances. In the meantime, we can hope for a solution acceptable for all the stakeholders in this war.

Usually, the general behavior of Afghans is against any talks with Taliban and especially Pakistan.

These peace talks will also give both Afghanistan and Pakistan an opportunity to sit on table, discuss the health of these accusations, and try to come with a mutually agreed-upon resolution. In the same way, the status of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is still unclear and good relations between the two countries would help to better address this problem as well.

We have witnessed that nations have successfully settled the long-standing conflicts with negotiations and so we need to support any process that can bring peace and security in Afghanistan.