Taliban refuse to join peace talks
Afghan Peace talks in peril as Taliban's dominant faction refuses to negotiate with government.
Dunya News Report (Madiha Fareed)
Afghan Taliban’s dominant faction “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” headed by Mullah Akhtar Mansour has refused to participate in direct peace talks with Afghan government, reveled a statement released by the insurgent group.
“On the one hand America is deploying fresh troops to Afghanistan, is carrying out airstrikes in various areas and partaking in night raids and on the other the Kabul administration has expanded operations in multiple provinces, displaced thousands of families from their homes in this cold winter and at the same time intensified propaganda about negotiations and Quadrilateral Coordination Group meetings”, said the statement.
“We reject all such rumors and unequivocally state that the esteemed leader of the Islamic Emirate has not authorized anyone to participate in this meeting and neither has the leadership Council of Islamic Emirate decided to partake in it”, it added.
The statement goes on to state that “Unless the occupation is ended, black lists eliminated and innocent prisoners freed, such futile misleading negotiations will not bear any result”
Meanwhile the Taliban have intensified their infamous “spring offensive”. Several reports have surfaced that Taliban will soon take over the province of Helmand as heavy fighting has continued over the winter in the southern province. Jowzjan province in the north has also been turbulent recently, while a series of suicide attacks have been launched in the capital Kabul, underlining the difficulty of reviving the peace process.
During the Heart of Asia Conference held in Islamabad from December 8 to 10 last year, the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), consisting of top diplomats from Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and United States, was established with the mandate to chalk out a viable framework for peace dialogue between Afghan Government and Taliban factions in order to achieve a truce in the war-torn country.
In the third meeting of the QCG, held in Islamabad on February 6,a roadmap was agreed upon for the peace talks. And in the fourth meeting held in Kabul on February 23 it was announced that first direct talks between Afghan government and Taliban will take place in the first week of March and will be hosted by Islamabad. The QCG invited all Taliban factions to join the talks without any preconditions attached from both sides.
Earlier this week, Pakistan foreign Office had announced that the talks have been delayed and will take place soon. “It is a shared responsibility of the four participating nations to convene the talks; we don’t have any confirmation for the dates of the talks but the efforts are on”, said the Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria.
During his opening remarks at the occasion of 6th ministerial-level US-Pakistan strategic dialogue, Prime Minister’s advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz shed light on Afghanistan and Pakistan’s complicated ties saying that “Regrettably there’s a tendency to blame Pakistan in somewhat simplistic fashion for most of the difficulties and challenges that engage Afghanistan. We are blamed to be pursuing a duplicitous policy.”
He further stated “Nothing can be further from truth than to hold Pakistan responsible for the Afghan problems. Who would like to set one’s own neighbor on fire with the hope to save one’s backyard? Pakistan has suffered the most due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan”. He also reiterated that Pakistan will not let its soil be used for terrorism in its neighbor countries.”
It was during a talk at a well-known American think tank in Washington- Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) - when the advisor dropped the bombshell. In response to a question regarding Pakistan’s influence on Afghan Taliban, Sartaj Aziz candidly informed the audience that “Pakistan has had a certain level of influence on Afghan Taliban but they only listen to Pakistan when it suits them”.
He went on to say that “Now Pakistan wields some influence on them (Afghan Taliban) because their leadership in Pakistan, their families are here also and they receive medical treatment here. So Pakistan holds a lever of “Freedom of Movement” on Afghan Taliban Leadership, we can restrict their movement and minimize their access to medical facilities in order to pressurize them to come to table”, said Mr.Aziz. He added that the same levers were used to bring them to table in July last year where Pakistan managed to bring Afghan government and Taliban face to face for first direct official talks. This is the first time that a top Pakistani official has admitted housing Taliban in the country.
However Taliban’s flat out refusal to participate in the talks has put Pakistan in a rather awkward position. It has exposed the truth behind the “leverage” Sartaj Aziz boasted about in Washington and has rather given weight to Afghan government’s claims that Pakistan provides safe havens to the Taliban leadership, a claim Pakistan had persistently denied until Sartaj Aziz’sfrank admission.
It also explains that Pakistan’s influence on Taliban leadership is limited as Pakistan has failed to bring them on the negotiating table this time. Even though they (Taliban leaders) live in Pakistan and get medical treatment, they will not listen to Pakistan when it does not suit them. The recent series of events has landed Pakistan into hot waters and Pakistan will certainly have some explaining to do to the fellow QCG members.
However Pakistan’s efforts should not be undermined as it is evident that Pakistan’s military and political leadership is pulling all available strings to bring Taliban on the negotiating table. On February 21st, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif made a one-day trip to Qatar and held meetings with top Qatari leadership including Ameer of Qatar in an attempt to smooth out the rough edges obstructing the peace-process in Afghanistan and to lobby in order to engage Taliban’s Qatar political office in the peace talks.
Just last week, COAS, On his way back from Turkmenistan, made a brief stop in Afghanistan and held meetings with Afghanistan’s top military and political leadership including Afghan president Ashraf Ghani. COAS reassured Afghan leadership that Pakistan is committed to bring lasting peace in Afghanistan.
Despite Afghan government’s insistence, Pakistan has resorted to the role of the mediator and facilitator of the talks and it is made sure that the sentence “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned Peace initiative” is repeated in every press release.
The history of violence in Afghanistan spans over three decades. From soviet invasion in 1978, civil war in 1990s and then United States invasion after 9/11 attacks, Afghan people have suffered enough. The country’s infrastructure is in shambles and the life of citizens is nothing less of a living hell. The 2015 was one of the bloodiest years as more than 11,000 civilians were targeted in the conflicts while afghan security forces also suffered record casualties. It is imperative that the crazy bloodshed be brought to an end and both parties realize the fierce urgency of the matter so that the citizens can exercise their fundamental right to live a safe and healthy life.
The hiccups are bound to happen in the recently renewed peace process but what’s needed is a firm resolve to take the process forward toward a meaningful solution.
