The withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan notwithstanding the Taliban’s escalated insurgency, leading to large-scale civilian casualties, has triggered public concern. From the start of the talks up to now, the Taliban have played a foul game. The Taliban turned down the call for reduction in violence and a permanent ceasefire and continued their talk-talk and fight-fight approach.
The US troop pullout is disconcerting for the Afghan nation and neighboring states. The people of Afghanistan, mainly women, are highly concerned about the outcome of the troop pullout as the negotiations have been proved abortive. If the international forces abandon Afghanistan despite the failure in the peace talks, the threat and fear of “civil war” loom large.
Washington signed a peace agreement with the Taliban and brokered talks between the Taliban leadership and the Afghan government. However, the Biden administration appears to have disregarded the outcome of the talks and announced the withdrawal plan. A Taliban delegation has traveled to Pakistan from the Qatari capital of Doha, unwilling to continue the intra-Afghan dialogue. And their fighters are engaged in spilling the blood of Afghan combatants and non-combatants. Meanwhile, the Taliban refused to participate in Istanbul conference, which was postponed as a result.
After all, the Taliban group is said to have maintained its ties with al-Qaeda, which is a violation of its agreement with the United States.
Despite the aforementioned facts, the Biden administration seems unwilling to exert pressure on the Taliban leadership to honor their deal and present at the peace table with sincere intention.
The Afghan government has clear demands: declaration of a permanent ceasefire, commitment to the Afghan Constitution, protection of human rights, mainly women’s rights, and preservation of the decades-long achievements – which are reasonable demands supported by the people of Afghanistan. These demands were considered “red-line” to not be compromised at the table.
On the other hand, regional and global stakeholders have refused to support the establishment of “Islamic Emirate”, which was promising for Afghanistan.
The United Nations, European Union, and the United States and its international allies have to support the demands of the Afghan state and nation and pressure the Taliban to accept the demands, which are also supported by the Afghan Islamic clerics.
Walking away from the negotiating table and persistent refusal to declare a nationwide ceasefire is unlikely to be in the interests of the Taliban. That is, the Taliban have to return to the peace table and respect the demands of the Afghan people.
Although the Taliban, in their formal sayings, claim that they have the support of the Afghan people, they understand that people, who suffered severely as a result of the Taliban’s acts of violence, are against their practices. In his interview with a national TV, the Taliban political spokesperson Naeem Wardak sidestepped the reporter’s question about the public support through disconnecting his contact, which went viral and scoffed at publically.
Similarly, the Taliban refuse to participate national elections for reserving seats in the political system since they are aware of the fact that the people will not cast their votes in their support.
For the ordinary people, the Taliban are still a terrorist group, which is engaged in shedding their blood.
In a public gathering in Herat province, a number of Afghan women have called on the Taliban to declare ceasefire. Women are highly concerned about the return of the Taliban group.
They fear being sidelined from social and political arenas and having their role restricted based on the Taliban’s ideological mindset. From the start of the talks, I believed that the Taliban would not be genuine.
WI wrote that the Taliban would play a foul game and did not have sincere intention in the talks. If the Taliban are sincere, they have to respect the public demands and stop killing the people. The Taliban should return to the negotiating table to find out a negotiated settlement for the conflict so that the people of Afghanistan no more suffer as a result of their insurgency.
If the Taliban continue their foul game and urge for one-sided concessions, the peace deadlock is unlikely to be broken. In turn, the level of violence and insurgency will increase and the Taliban will also face the horrible consequences. In short, the warring sides have to find out a negotiated settlement and the Taliban leaders have to disarm and disband its group to ensure that they are sincere in the talks. On its turn, the government should declare a public impunity and integrate the Taliban into the system.