THE warning that a close eye on spoilers must be kept to
ensure success of the historic peace accord between the
United States and Taliban was not without reason as only a day after inking of the deal in the presence of representatives of the world community, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has flatly refused to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners as envisaged in the agreement. The document calls for release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners and 1,000 prisoners held by Taliban by 10 March 2020, the day when intra-Afghan dialogue is proposed to begin.
The accord, concluded after a lengthy process of dialogue and removal of numerous odds, has widely been hailed as it addresses some of the real issues facing Afghanistan and that are considered to be the core factors responsible for long-drawn conflict – withdrawal of all foreign troops in a phased manner within nine and a half months and a commitment by Taliban not to allow use of Afghan soils against the United States and its allies. It also takes care of the issues of prisoners and removal of members of Taliban from the UN Security Council’s sanctions’ list. However, it is quite obvious that the objective of durable peace and security in Afghanistan would remain elusive until and unless all Afghan factions engage into a productive and result-oriented dialogue process to determine the future political set-up of the country that safeguards interests of all segments of the society. There were indications that the Afghan Government was on board on the signing of the US and Taliban deal and that this would ensure its success and sure beginning of the intra-Afghan dialogue. It is, however, unfortunate that the Afghan President has thrown the first spanner in the works by declining to release Taliban prisoners, which effectively means non start of the intra-Afghan dialogue process. This amounts to subversion of a deal which is not only widely hailed by all but also brightens prospects for a permanent settlement of the conflict. Afghan President has previously undermined the Murree peace talks and now again trying to scuttle the dialogue among all Afghan segments of the society whose interests he is supposed to safeguard as head of the country. Intra-Afghan dialogue would understandably be ticklish and the strategy of Ashraf Ghani indicates he is not willing to share power with others. This tendency of putting interests of the entire country on stake for the sake of personal petty interests is deplorable and the world community should take serious notice of it.
