Taleban attacks have been on the rise even as the government of national unity pushes for peace talks and threatens to retaliate against the killing of innocents.
President Ashraf Ghani has described the war as “imposed”. The Taleban are pushing for new territories with daily attacks.
Abdul Hakim Mujahid, deputy chair of the High Peace Council, believes they want to claim more advantages through increased attacks. “I think both sides want to show their fighting power … it means they both want to get more advantages within the peace talks,” he says.
Political analyst Mohammad Zarif Naseri, while agreeing with Mujahid’s view, also thinks there are other reasons for the rise in Taleban violence. “The war in Pakistan have forced insurgents to enter Afghanistan, and seek a base here but the Afghan army is fighting against them and won’t let them,” he says.
Mohammad Amin Weqad, a member of the High Peace Council, wants both sides in the next meeting between Afghan government officials and Taleban representatives to follow a pre-determined agenda and from a specified address. “The Taleban should attend the peace talks with concrete plans on the table,” he says. Pugwash Conferences, a Nobel-prize winning organisation that promotes world peace, may arrange another meeting in early June.
On May 2 and 3, representatives of the government and Taleban met in Qatar at informal talks organised by Pugwash. It issued a summary of the talks that produced agreements that are not binding. Both sides have agreed to the opening of a political office for the Taleban in Doha, and discussion on the Constitution but the rights of women to education are not up for negotiation. Pugwash
Pakistan’s role
The government’s hopes that Pakistan would push the Taleban into talking with Kabul are weakening. Ahmed Rashid, well-known Pakistani journalist who is an authority on the politics of the region recently wrote that his sources in the army indicate the situation is complex, and it would be impossible to predict how soon the Taleban can be brought to peace talks. Moreover, the Pakistan army does not want to reveal the extent of its influence over the Taleban, he feels.
Recently, Mullah Abdul Salam Zayeef, the former ambassador of Taleban in Islamabad announced the Taliban has got aid from Pakistan to keep the war going in Afghanistan. He further said despite Islamabad’s support for the Taleban, Pakistan could not control the fighters. It can put pressure because its leaders are all living in big Pakistani cities. Having intensified the fighting, the Taleban want to gain more advantages to be able to bargain from a stronger position at eventual peace talks, he feels.
There has been an increase in fighting by Taleban in many parts of the country. The latest suicide attacks close to the Hamid Karzai International Airport (Kabul International airport was renamed in October last year) has provoked President Ghani to order counter-attacks, and the use of all the legal powers in the hands of the government against “those who kill innocent people”.
There was praise for the government’s decisive action against the Taleban violence. Political analyst Naseri said the decisiveness has given rise to hope that the war in Afghanistan would soon end. “The latest confrontations between Afghan security forces and Taleban doesn’t mean weakness of government and continuation of war. If the Taleban have increased their operations, (it) means they are trying to get more privileges at the negotiating table. Afghan security forces have done well to resist,” he says.
Imposed War
The war is being waged on behalf of the world’s terrorists, extremists and drug traffickers, and imposed on Afghanistan, the president said. All countries in the region, particularly Iran, Central Asia, Pakistan and India, stand to suffer with the continuation of war.
The Taleban also see it as an imposed war – the occupation of Afghanistan. Unless the last foreign (read American) soldier leaves, they will continue to justify their fight against their own people. “The USA and its allies have conducted military attacks on an independent country (Afghanistan). The USA has martyred many thousands of people; they have insulted religious sanctity, destroyed houses, land and gardens of people,” a statement issued after the “informal” talks in Qatar in early May said. A ground for peace and understanding would need all these “tragedies” to stop, it said.
The Hezb-e Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has also insisted on the pullout of all foreign forces. In its declaration published after the Qatar session, it stated, “Ending of war and understanding is entirely in the hands of USA. They (Americans) have imposed war on us; they are the cause of continuation of war.” It believes Washington does not want peace and so is not withdrawing all its forces. Former president Karzai had also said the key of peace and war is in hands of the US.
As the violence and insecurity increases, NATO in a meeting in Antalya, Turkey, announced that they would stay in Afghanistan till after 2016.
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