The shadow of war is lengthening, and talks about talks, instead of triggering optimism, are sparking frustration.
Amin, who ferries passengers in his car to earn money, says he was forced to move from his own home in the province to Kabul because
The shadow of war is lengthening, and talks about talks, instead of triggering optimism, are sparking frustration.
Amin, who ferries passengers in his car to earn money, says he was forced to move from his own home in the province to Kabul because of insecurity. He erupts in anger at the mention of peace talks on the car radio. “When I was young I used to hear about national reconciliation from communists who invited the mujahidin to peace. These claims have been repeated over the years. They have never changed to reality,” he says derisively.
He blames a lack of decisiveness in government and the failure of coordination between groups for the current impasse
Amin says he wants a more hopeful life for his son and has requested a relative living in Europe to find a way to take him out of Afghanistan. Their children’s future is a matter of anxiety for many Afghan parents. Take Shekeba who was widowed by the war, and left with young children. She says she frequently asks herself what if her son ended up as a victim of war like his father, and her daughter shared her destiny?
The eight-month-old national unity government has been hopeful of restarting the peace process. Afghan and Pakistani authorities have even announced that some Taleban leaders are ready for peace talks. But Pakistan’s role is still ambiguous. Though a long-time ally of the US, it has a long history of supporting the Taleban in the proxy war for control of Kabul. Only over the last few months, since the terrible massacre of schoolchildren in Peshawar, Pakistani authorities seem to have realised their interests would be safeguarded by a peaceful Afghanistan and peace on their shared border.
Two days of informal peace talks in Qatar between the government and Taleban representatives in early May have produced agreements that are not binding. The organisers, Pugwash Conferences, have issued a summary of the indirect “track two” talks. Both sides have agreed to opening a political office for the Taleban in Doha, and discussion on the Constitution. Rights of women to education are not up for negotiation. “The value of education for both men and women was underlined by everybody,” the Pugwash summary of the talks said.
The talks on May 2 and 3 in Doha have been welcomed by some amount of scepticism here. Civil society activists think there is nothing new. Yasin Yawari from Sabz Andeshan (green thinkers) blames the Taleban for insisting on pre-conditions that are nothing more than an excuse to delay the national reconciliation process.
According to Dr Fatema Aziz, Member of Parliament from Kunduz, “If the Taleban are really wishing for peace and stability in Afghanistan, they should stop fighting.” She says similar meetings took place in Qatar in 2011 and many Afghans have lost their lives since with no progress in the peace process. “I and all the Afghan people don’t trust the Taleban and (talk of) talks,” she told Killid.
Political observers rue the absence of powerful mediators at the Doha talks. Khan Mohammad Daneshjo, political analyst, doubts the talks can be “fruitful”. “Considering the non-presence of powerful countries from the region or beyond, this type (of meeting) would not be fruitful,” he believes.
Even if the Taleban were to join peace, the government’s failure to involve other opponents like the Haqqani Network would be self-defeating, according to Faheem Dashti, a journalist and political analyst. “The meeting in Qatar can be a ground-breaker but some extremists like the Haqqani would fight to the end.”
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