Time and again the summit in Paris on Afghanistan attended by High Peace Council officials and Taleban representatives was called an “informal” event. However, the two-day meeting has sparked serious discussions.
Time and again the summit in Paris on Afghanistan attended by High Peace Council officials and Taleban representatives was called an “informal” event. However, the two-day meeting has sparked serious discussions.A declaration issued by the Taleban at the end of the meeting has called for a change in the Constitution as a precondition for joining the peace process. The Taleban say the present Constitution was drafted by a “puppet government” on the orders of “foreigners”.
The Taleban’s conditional offer of restarting peace talks has been taken note of. Hajji Mohammad Mohaqeq, a senior member of Afghanistan National Front who was present in Paris, said Mawlawi Abdul Salam Zaeef, former Taleban ambassador to Pakistan, has suggested that an all-party commission should be set up to review the Constitution.
“If Zaeef has the authority to coordinate with the leadership of the Taleban, the ice on Afghanistan’s problems is going to melt,” Mohaqeq told Killid on his return from Paris.
Apart from Zaeef, the Taleban representatives at the summit were two other maulvis, Shahbudin Delawar and Mohammad Nayeem Wardak. Ahead of the meeting, French officials had raised hopes of a breakthrough in Paris despite the fact that no government official was going to be participating.
The Taleban’s insistence on a Constitution based on “Islamic principles” has raised fears that the gains in civil liberties and democratic values achieved over the past decade may be sacrificed on the track to negotiate an end to fighting in Afghanistan.
Hidden agenda
Mohammad Husain Nateqi, a civil society activist, warns there are hidden agendas behind the Taleban’s preconditions for talks. “The constitutional changes being sought are not superficial but a fundamental revolution,” he said. The Taleban would think nothing of denying civil liberties and social justice opportunities, he added.
However, MP (member of parliament) Bashir Ahmad Tayanj considers the Taleban’s request could accelerate the peace process. If the Taleban are committed and honest about Afghan-led peace it would not be anti-constitutional to amend laws to include the requests of the Taleban, he said.
Another MP, Nader Khan Katawazai, from Paktika, urged the government to assess the Taleban request, and if it was in the interest of the Afghan people, the president can suggest the National Assembly holds a loya jirga.
Human rights campaigners are worried. Nader Naderi, a founding member of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), has rejected any deal that compromises human rights. Rights should not become a victim in a deal of reconciliation with the government’s opponents, he warned.
Fatana Bayat, a women’s rights activist, said civil rights should not become a political tool in peace negotiations.
No dilution
The Taleban were not the only Afghan group making demands in Paris. Representatives of the Hezb-e-Islami, led by Gulbudin Hekmatyar, have called for a transitional government to hammer out peace. Ghairat Baheer, Amin Karimi and Mohammad Hakim represented the party at Paris.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has ruled out any dilution of the Constitution that affects the rights of people.
Janan Mosazai, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has insisted peace talks “can take place only and only in the frame of the Constitution and principles specified by Afghan people.”
Mosazai called the meeting in Paris an “effective and positive step” and a “trust-building effort”. He said the Afghan government welcomes any type of efforts for peace negotiations. “Efforts to bring peace are part of the process. We cannot expect result after a few sessions (like Paris),” he said.
Regarding the Hezb-e-Islami’s demand, the foreign ministry spokesman said: “The draft for the establishment of a transitional government is no more than a dream and phantom; it will never prove to be true.”
Meanwhile, focus has begun to shift to an upcoming follow-up summit on Afghanistan in Turkmenistan in February 2013, which has been called by the UN.
Ali Akbar Kazemi, MP from the Hezb-e-Eqtedar-e-Mili, thinks the UN-meet will help build trust. “Peace must be ensured in which the UN has pivotal role,” he said. “Other countries with self-interest should not be allowed to penetrate the Afghan peace process.”
Peace trek
The government has said it would like to see all future meetings for peace in Afghanistan hosted in Kabul. Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul said: “Despite the problems that exist in Afghanistan, we are an independent country with a Constitution, National Assembly and legal opposition. These types of summits (peace conferences) should not be outside our country.” If conditions in the country are not conducive to the holding of peace parleys, Qatar would be the government’s preferred venue, he added.
According to the minister, the Paris meeting was not a real summit because the participants were not known before hand. “It was not known which group or country the Taliban were representing,” he said.
Rassoul said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was finalising a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Qatar, which would be submitted to parliament and National assembly before signing.
