THE year 2020 proved to be very significant for the Afghan peace process raising expectations and hopes for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. This year first saw the US-Taliban peace agreement and then commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations which led to agreement on the rules and procedures for future talks.
Now both the Afghan government and the Taliban are set to hold the next round of talks in Doha from the 5th of January. Indeed the talks have reached a very delicate phase and our Foreign Office, in a statement on Sunday, urged the negotiating parties to avoid accusations and to demonstrate wisdom, sagacity and vision for the larger objective of achieving lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. In the whole process, Pakistan has played a very important role – something that has also been recognized by the Afghan officials and the international community. And it has time and again reiterated to continue to play the role of facilitator. However, it is now the responsibility of both the parties to make the talks meaningful and result oriented to give a healing touch to the wounds of Afghan people who have been suffering as a result of prolonged war. Agreeing to a complete ceasefire will be a good beginning as violence and dialogue cannot go together. Such a course will create an enabling environment to move forward on critical issues. At the same time, there is need to be mindful of spoilers who will go to any extent including violence in Afghanistan to roll back the whole process. This will be a major test for the Afghan parties to stick to the talks no matter what happens as the years of fighting have given nothing to the country and the solution only lies in negotiations. Afghan government should take proactive measures to fulfil its responsibility for internal security, law and order and protection of Afghan lives. Then the Afghan government will have to show more flexibility in talks to reach an understanding on power sharing formula. The eventual agreement should be all inclusive and there should be no victor and no loser rather it should be considered the triumph of the entire Afghan society.
