The U.S. representative for peace in the Afghan region (Khalil Zad) visited Kabul and Islamabad some days ago, this happens as the United States of America takes a step for another round of talks with the Taliban this month in Qatar.
Referring to the Peace talks between the Taliban, and the Afghan government, Khalil Zad says; that if the Leadership in Afghanistan focus on the “Intra-Afghan Peace Dialogue”, and make the talks inclusive, the international community will do the best they can for the sustainability of peaceful and stable Afghanistan. He further added that Inclusive talks is the only way that the Afghans can reach to a consensus, for the future of sustainable peace in the region.
Talking to the military and civilian leadership in Pakistan, Khalil Zad appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for the “Afghan Peace Talks”, also he indicated that Pakistan should soften its policy more towards Afghanistan, which is directly proportional to better relations with Washington.
One might think, that in a juncture of time when Peace talks is at a very important stage, why would the US indicate Pakistan of more soft policy towards Afghanistan, there are some assumptions which might help in understanding the US position.
The United States is clearly aware of the weaknesses that Afghan government is moving forward with, keeping those in mind, United states want better relations of Afghanistan with the neighboring countries, which is one of the strategies to make Afghanistan a more stable country, through good ties with all its neighbors.
According to some analysts, Taliban sees Pakistan as a more credible force in the region than anyone else, which is why it is important that Afghan government should establish better relations with its neighboring country if it wants better relations with the Taliban, but it cannot be deemed as an established fact.
The first round of peace talks started this year in Moscow on February, in which all the prominent Afghan leaders were present, except the representatives of the Afghan government. The chief negotiator in the peace talks from the Taliban side was Abbas Stanikzai, who is one of the key Taliban leaders.
On the other hand, currently, many Afghan provinces are under attack by the Taliban, which is comprised of Badghiz, Ghazni, and Sancharak district of Sar e Pul, in the attack multiple Afghan security personnel’s have lost their lives, which reminds me that the people of Afghanistan has been dreaming of a permanent peace in the Afghan region from decades.
Talking to few Afghan youths about the peace talks in Kabul three days ago, some of them mentioned that they are tired of the ongoing war in Afghanistan, Zabeh, who didn’t share his details said that, “I don’t know, if I’ll be back in the evening when I start my day by going to the university”. He said “there are thousands of Afghan youth like me, who are tired of war and wants peace at any cost”, Zabeh Says “he wants to live in an Afghanistan, where he can be assured that he will safely return home in the evening to his mother and sisters”.
The Afghan youth think, that war is not only ruining the Afghan economy and restricting their movement in the city, but also creating huge mental pressure for young people like them, who are playing different roles in the society.
Moreover, there are Afghan women, who are whining about the “Afghan Women Rights”, and their living conditions after the peace talks, the Afghan women activists demand that they should be given proper representation in the ongoing peace talks. They say that the US peace envoy has assured that they will be given role to play in the ongoing peace talks, but that is yet to be executed in practical form.
During all the happenings events of Peace talks, there are more sections of the society which the Afghan government, United States and Taliban should consider before taking any decision for the future of Afghanistan, otherwise peace might not look like peace after the peace talk ends.