TALIBAN spokesperson has claimed that they were committed to the agreements with the United States despite the recent events on the condition Washington will adhere to its part. In an interview, he said Taliban have two strategies to achieve ultimate goal of peace in Afghanistan – they are ready to get independence either on the table of talks or at the fields of battles, adding that to have an independent country, without occupation, is their legitimate right.
This positive gesture on the part of Taliban augurs well for Afghan peace process, which received serious blows last week due to unilateral decision of President Donald Trump to call off meetings with Taliban representatives and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and abruptly ending Doha talks that were ripe for signing of the much-talked-about deal. Taliban have rightly pointed out that the peaceful way to resolve the Afghan issue is to implement the agreement between the two sides. The proposed deal was not considered to be ideal and it was not expected to achieve the goal of ultimate peace in Afghanistan as the most crucial phase of intra-Afghan dialogue was yet to begin. However, the deal would provide a basis for negotiations and the United States and other stakeholders would be in a position to play the role of mediator to facilitate success of such a dialogue. It would be futile to expect ceasefire from Taliban before shaping up of future political set-up in intra-Afghan talks as in the past conspiracies were hatched to exclude major segments of Afghan society out of political arrangements. Taliban are effectively controlling a significant part of Afghan territory and they are committed to continue fight till realization of their goal of total withdrawal of foreign occupation forces. As there is no military solution to the conflict as is being contemplated by the United States and Kabul, the willingness of Taliban to stick to understanding with Washington should be responded with the same spirit for the sake of peace and security.
