AFGHAN President Ashraf Ghani has warned that violence by the Taliban is threatening the country’s peace process, as he briefed the international community on Kabul’s preparations for peace talks with the armed group. The accusations came as Afghan authorities and the Taliban are preparing to engage in the so-called intra-Afghan talks aimed at bringing lasting peace to the war-torn country. The negotiations, slated to be held in the Qatari capital Doha, are part of a February deal between the US and the Taliban to end the nearly two-decade-old war.
The allegations of the Afghan President ahead of Doha talks are unfortunate but in line with consistent policy of Ghani to vitiate atmosphere for any meaningful talks aimed at restoration of much-needed peace in the war-torn country. Starting from Murree talks, he behaved in the same manner on every occasion when negotiations were to start to find an acceptable formula for reconciliation in Afghanistan. This approach clearly shows Ghani and other stakeholders in the present set-up in Afghanistan are not ready to share power with Afghan groups that have been waging a struggle against occupation and intervention in the internal affairs of their country. Taliban can be blamed for stepping up attacks against governmental targets but it was Ghani who created roadblocks in the way of next phase of peace process after Washington and Taliban inked an accord. There were timelines for next moves but Ghani refused to cooperate by not releasing Afghan prisoners as envisaged in the agreement. It is propagated by some vested interests that Taliban were not serious about peace deal and are negotiating simply to get US troops to withdraw so that Taliban forces can overthrow the Afghan Government. However, there is sufficient evidence to prove that it is the Afghan Government that is adopting delaying tactics and not Taliban as the status quo suits the rulers in Kabul, who are also accused of corruption and bad governance. Taliban have publicly expressed their commitment to peace process and their sincerity can be tested by extending genuine cooperation from the Government side for facilitation of the talks. This is historic opportunity to strike a final deal and prevent Afghanistan from slipping into yet another cycle of violence and bloodshed.
