Peace Negotiation with Taliban

Peace Negotiation with Taliban

During the 2016 presidential campaign Donald Trump just like president Barack Obama in his presidential speeches told the American people and the world of either ending America’s longest war or reducing the number of American boots in Afghanistan. On September 5^th 2018 under the presidency of Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appointed an Afghan American diplomat Zalmy Khalilzad as the special envoy to Afghanistan to create a possibility of peace deal between the Taliban and the US which would result the end of war.

It has been 10 months since Ambassador Zalmy Khalilzad has been conducting non-stop meetings with the Taliban officials from their political office in Doha, Qatar. A special request from the Americans and Kabul government was made and one of the most senior and one of the founding father of the Taliban movement Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar was released from the Pakistani custody on 25^th October 2018 for the continuation of the peace negotiations with the Americans in Doha.

There has been a total nine meetings between the Taliban officials and Americans with senior leaderships participating from both sides, such as Deputy Head of Taliban Mullah Abdul Ghani Beradar and in recent meeting the commander of NATO and US forces in Afghanistan General Scott Miller. Till now almost everything was finalized and discussed with conditions from both sides, the Americans want the Taliban to cut off all the ties with their “ally” the Al-Qaida, another important condition was that no terrorist activity would be sponsored from the soil of Afghanistan onto any other country and that the Taliban would support counterterrorism actions against ISIS and other terrorist groups in the region in return Americans agreed to leave Afghanistan with certain time tables that are circulating in the news. These are the conditions that the Taliban had agreed upon according to reports but the conditions that the Taliban are not accepting are as follows; Firstly having direct talks with the Afghan government, that is why in these peace talks the Kabul government is deliberately put on the back foot by the US away from the negotiations, secondly agreeing to a country wide ceasefire and thirdly the presence of US forces in Afghanistan either in intelligence form or in various military bases all around the country.

Since the start of the peace negotiations the Taliban negotiators have always refused to recognize the legitimacy of the US backed Kabul government and having direct talks with them, and they have also refused to agree on a country wide ceasefire before the agreement is signed. In addition to these direct peace talks between the Americans and Taliban, there have been two very successful Intra-Afghan dialogues held in Moscow, Russia under the presence of Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov one on 5^th February 2019 and second on 28^th May 2019. In these Intra-Afghan dialogues all the important personalities of Afghan politics and Taliban delegation from Doha’s political office participated and conducted a very fruitful discussion on the future of Afghanistan. Although an official representation of Kabul government was not present in the conference but officials of High Peace Council were present in the first meeting. Another Intra-Afghan conference was held in Bhurban, Pakistan on 22^nd June 2019 with only Afghan opposition political parties but without the presence of Taliban.

After the end of the 9^th round of peace talks of Zalmy Khalilzad with the Taliban in Doha, everyone was optimistic about a possible draft of the agreement that is soon to be signed between the two sides but during all this optimism the Taliban forces on ground did not for a second rest and constant attacks were conducted on the government forces and key areas were being captured such as Kunduz in recent weeks. One of these attacks was in Kabul on 5^th September 2019 close to the American Embassy in which 12 people including an American service member and a Romanian soldier was killed, the Taliban claimed responsibility.

On 8^th September 2019 Donald Trump posted a number of tweets canceling the peace deal with the Taliban and the reason of the cancelation was this attack in Kabul that killed an American soldier. Although the reason of cancelation of the deal looks rather as an excuse than a valid reason because according to reports at least 16 American troops have been killed this year and if it was for the American lives, the deal would’ve been canceled a long time ago and not right now when the possibility of a peace deal was so close. The president also in his tweet revealed a secret meeting that was to be held between him, the Taliban and Ashraf Ghani in Camp David following the peace agreement.

According to the Taliban the peace negotiations with Zalmy Khalilzad were very positive and productive. The peace agreement was finalized and the latest talks ended in a good atmosphere, both the sides were preparing for the announcement of the agreement and even the Intra-Afghan dialogue were scheduled for 23^rd of September following the announcement and signing of the peace agreement. Taliban also said such a reaction towards a single attack just before the announcement and signing of agreement shows lack of composure and experience by Mr. Trump. The cancelation of peace negotiation on the last moment by president Trump will damage US more than anyone else and it exposes its anti-peace policy to the world. Taliban will continue their struggle till all the foreign forces withdraw from Afghanistan.

With the cancelation of peace deal the differences in the Trump administration are also quiet visible now. Giving an interview to CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US is still interested in peace deal with the Taliban until there is proof that the Taliban deliver on its commitment under a potential agreement. According to reports National Security Advisor John Bolton and Sen Lindsey Graham have been discouraging and opposing the peace talks with the Taliban. John Bolton also showed his reservations regarding the peace talks when Ambassador Zalmy Khalilzad briefed president Trump in late August. A lot of people in Trump administration are also opposing the idea of inviting Taliban to Camp David after the Taliban agreed to come after to US after signing the peace agreement. House of Representative member and political ally of the Republican Party Liz Cheney also opposed this idea and said; “No Taliban member should set foot there”.

The Afghan government is blaming the whole situation on the Taliban and again calling the Taliban for directs talks with the government. Sediq Sediqqi the spokesperson of President Ashraf Ghani said Taliban’s violence is the obstacle in peace negotiations. Although the peace process is temporarily stopped due to unexpected circumstances but it is most likely to continue again as Ambassador Zalmy Khalilzad is not letting his peace mission fail and according to reports he will meet Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Trump regarding the situation.

To conclude with Barnett R Rubin’s take on the whole situation; “Whatever just happened, it's about Trump, not Afghanistan. He wanted a photo op and high-rating TV shows, and when it didn't work out, he canceled it".
Nevertheless there is still space of optimism and hope for the Afghan people for a peace deal, regardless of domestic and foreign interests of some individuals in Trump administration and Kabul government and even Delhi that see their benefit in the continuation of war and instability in Afghanistan. The Afghan Turf has always been used as a proxy battle ground by foreign and regional powers against each other's interests. A peace deal is still around the corner if there is will and commitment from both sides especially Trump and spoilers must be kept away from the peace process so that it cannot be sabotaged again at any point. In the end of the day it would be the Afghan people that will be the ultimate and long term beneficiary from a peace agreement and the 40 years of bloodshed and 18 years of foreign invasion will come to an end.

End Game in Afghanistan by MuhammadAsimKhan on Scribd

                             

Author: Muhammad Asim Khan

A Mass Communication student of National University of        Modern    Languages Islamabad who often writes on international relations   and particular interest in Af-Pak affairs.