Authors: Kinza Shaheen and Areeja Syed
The geostrategic location of Afghanistan made it a buffer state between the British Empire and Russia till 1919. In the following decades, it remained a proxy of big states like USSR and USA. It had to go through political turmoil and foreign invasions which weakened the elementary foundation of the government. The Soviet invasion of 1979 has set en route of civil war, extremism, lawlessness and poverty in Afghanistan. In order to counter the advancement of USSR, the USA provided backing many armed groups known as “Mujahideen”. The armed resistance of Mujahideen enforced the Soviets to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989. The withdrawal of USSR created a power vacuum to be filled by the armed groups. On the other hand, the USA also took off its hand from Afghanistan which further deteriorated the state of affairs. As a result, different armed groups have taken up weapons against each other to get a hold on power which leads towards a civil war in Afghanistan.
The civil war continued after the withdrawal of USSR and eventually, the Taliban get a hold on power in 1996. The reign of Taliban lasted till 2001. The episode of 9/11 once again unlocked the door to foreign aggression. With the arrival of US, the Taliban went underground to start a guerrilla war against the NATO forces. The Taliban began terrorist attacks not only on the NATO forces but also on the masses. The terrorist attacks have reached on its peak, killing people and destroy the infrastructure of Afghanistan. Moreover, the USA allies in the war against terrorism like Pakistan, UK, and Spain, etc also have to bear the brunt of terrorism. Despite the efforts of NATO to root out terrorism; it speeded in the region like an uncontrollable wildfire. For the last 17 years, NATO forces tried to obstruct the Taliban through iron hand but it failed to do so. All the military strategies of the US government to put an end to terrorism and bring stability in Afghanistan have proved futile. Conversely, Taliban are persistently conquering and bringing more areas under their influence.
The failure of military operations compelled USA to sort out other sources such as the peace talks to end the feud with Taliban. The US initiative was also welcomed by the Taliban. In 2010, a tribal council was founded to contact the Taliban leaders to bring reconciliation a head of US withdrawal from the Afghanistan.
U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, The Afghan government says it will send 250 delegates for talks with the Taliban in Qatar that are seen as a potential breakthrough in efforts to end the nearly 18-year war. The three days of talks in the Qatari capital, Doha comes amid a push by the United States for a peace settlement with the Taliban. Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. envoy seeking a peace deal with the Taliban, has held several rounds of talks with the militants in Qatar in recent months. Those talks marked the most significant contact between senior Afghan political figures and the militant group since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. The non-Taliban delegation that was in Moscow could be expanded in next couple of week to include some government officials, but acting in their private capacities as the insurgents have refused to hold formal talks with Kabul. “There were women among Taliban delegation members in the Doha, Qatar meeting,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s main spokesman, said by telephone. The Taliban have rejected formal talks with the government, which they dismiss as a “puppet” regime controlled by the United States. The movement gained worldwide notoriety when it came to power in the 1990s by forcing women to wear full facial covering and imposing severe restrictions including banning girls from school and forbidding women from working outside the home. However, after the opening of the Taliban office in 2013
They reportedly envisaged foreign forces withdrawing within 18 months of the deal being signed in return for assurances that al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group would not be allowed to use Afghanistan as a base to attack the US. The Taliban’s power and reach have surged since foreign combat troops left Afghanistan in 2014.
Few weeks back, the working groups worked on two topics which include the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and the assurance that no threat will be staged from Afghanistan’s territory against other countries,” said Wahid Muzhdah, a political affairs analyst in Kabul. “The working groups also presents the outcome of their work to the general meeting where it takes the shape of a draft as well.
The four main topics of US-Taliban talks in Qatar have been US forces withdrawal from Afghanistan, ensuring that Afghanistan’s territory is not used as a threat to any other country, a comprehensive ceasefire and direct talks with the Afghan government. This was confirmed by the Afghan government as well as by sources ahead of the talks. The first round of talks between the Afghan politicians and representatives of the Taliban was held in Moscow
“This has been decided that Afghans should make their future government by their own. There are issues such as elections, prisoners and the blacklist, which should be discussed,” said Abidi.
The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, who sat with Taliban members for the fifth time in Qatar since last September, said on Thursday that the meetings in the last three days with the group’s members in Doha were “productive”.
The United States and the Taliban on Monday resumed their talks in Doha aimed at ending the stalemate over participation of Afghan government in negotiations for a political settlement of the conflict.
US Special Envoy for Peace and Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad had earlier hinted at flexibility in the American position. He had said: “Let me be clear: the US wants peace. … To achieve peace, we are ready to address legitimate concerns of all Afghan sides in a process that ensures Afghan independence and sovereignty, and accounts for legitimate interests of regional states.
In the next week ,Zalmay khalilzad will be going to Afghanistan and then Doha to again recommence the negotiations to end this long scale afghan war. In the current scenario, No matter how many challengers comes, still one can’t deny the fact that U.S is still a supreme power of the world and it can play a very positive role for the region’s harmony. So it is the responsibility of the U.S to mitigate this issue as soon as possible, and should play its role more effectively in order to bring peace and stability in the region.
