Pak, Afghanistan stay put on the future of peace talks
US, China urge Taliban to join peace talks.
Dunya News Report (Madiha Fareed)
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz informed the media today that peace talks between Afghan government and Taliban will take place within few weeks. He was addressing a joint press conference along with British Foreign Minister Phillip Hammond on the occasion of latter’s visit to Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai called the Taliban’s rejection a "tactical" move and said Kabul would continue its peace efforts. "We are very much hopeful to reach a result in the peace process," said Mr. Karzai while addressing a press conference in Kabul.
On Saturday, Taliban’s dominant faction “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” released a statement stating that Taliban will not take part in any peace talks with the Afghan government. Taliban’s refusal jeopardized the fate of peace process however the officials’ form both Pakistan and Afghanistan are positive that the talks will be held soon.
The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), after holding several rounds of talks, had announced on February 23 that the 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.
Yesterday, United States urged Taliban to participate in the talks. The States Department spokesperson John Kirby stated that "They (Taliban) have a choice, Rather than continuing to fight their fellow Afghans and destabilizing their country, they should engage in a peace process and ultimately become a legitimate part of the political system of a sovereign, united Afghanistan."
China’s Foreign Office’s spokesperson said on Monday that "China hopes the Afghan government and the Taliban as well as concerned parties will work together for the resumption of Afghan peace talks at an early date."
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani called on Taliban militants group to choose between war and peace, insisting that the group is facing a major test to choose between the country, nation and militancy.
Meanwhile the Taliban have intensified their infamous “spring offensive”. Several reports have surfaced that Taliban will soon take over theprovince 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 peaceprocess.
Last summer, Pakistan had managed to bring the two dissenting parties on the negotiating Table. The first round of direct talks between afghan govt. and representatives of Taliban began last July in Pakistan, but quickly fell apart after the news of Mullah’s Omar’s death surfaced on the media. The peace process never resumed again.
The Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG), consisting of top diplomats from Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and United States, was established during the Heart of Asia Conference held in Islamabad from December 8 to 10 last year, 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.
Recently Sartaj Aziz had claimed that Pakistan holds leverage over Taliban leaders because the country provides sanctuaries to the insurgent leaders in its territory. Mr. Aziz claimed that Pakistan had used those levers to bring Taliban to the negotiating table last year. But apparently that “leverage” isn’t working this time.
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. The formation of QCG had reignited the hopes of bringing the stalled Afghan Peace Process back on track and has brightened the prospects of a political settlement in the war-torn country. It is imperative that the crazy bloodshed in Afghanistan 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.
