Long-awaited Intra-Afghan talks begin today

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has welcomed landmark intra-Afghan peace talks beginning in Qatar’s capital Doha today (Saturday) which are aimed at ending the country’s long running conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.

In an early morning tweet on Friday, Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq said: “Pakistan welcomes the announcement of the start of historic intra-Afghan negotiations on 12 September in Doha.”

“We hope these negotiations would lead to sustainable peace in Afghanistan, which would bring prosperity to the country,” he said. Ambassador Sadiq said Pakistan’s strong support to the process would continue.

Earlier, Qatar’s foreign ministry statement announced the commencement of peace negotiations, terming it a “step forward in bringing lasting peace to Afghanistan”.Negotiations had originally been slated to start in March but were repeatedly pushed back amid disputes over a prisoner exchange that included the release of hundreds of battle-hardened Taliban fighters.

“After continuous efforts of the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to start direct talks with the Taliban, the peace negotiating team of the IRA left Kabul for Doha,” Nader Naderi, a member of the Afghan government negotiating team, said on Twitter minutes before their plane took off.

President Donald Trump has made his key foreign policy priority to end the war in Afghanistan and bring troops back home as he faces uncertain prospects in the November 3 election.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be attending the opening session of what he said was a “historic” opportunity to end America’s longest war. “I’m mindful of how difficult these conversations will be among the Afghans but it’s theirs for the taking,” he told reporter onboard his flight to Doha.

“We are going to Doha to tell the Taliban that you cannot succeed by force,” Abdul Hafiz Mansour, a member of Kabul’s delegation, told reporters at the capital’s airport. “The time is ready for reconciliation now, we can resolve our problems by talking to each other.”

The two sides are poles apart when it comes to the kind of Afghanistan they want, and at this stage, there is no certain agenda. “The Taliban have always been clear about what they want and that is a pure Islamic government, which is incompatible with the current liberal democratic Islamic political order,” said Nishank Motwani, deputy director at the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit.

The Taliban declared “victory” after signing the deal with the US and have often stated maximalist goals: they consider themselves Afghanistan’s legitimate leaders and want to return to power. “The Taliban’s leadership, rank and file fundamentally believe that victory is theirs and as victors, they will claim nothing short of power,” Motwani said.

However, in a New York Times op-ed published in February, the Taliban’s deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani expressed optimism over “intra-Afghan talks”. Some observers have suggested the militants would offer to negotiate a power-sharing deal.

“If we can reach an agreement with a foreign enemy, we must be able to resolve intra-Afghan disagreements through talks,” Haqqani wrote.But few trust the Taliban, whose hardline rule in the late 1990s terrorised many Afghans. The militants imposed Islamic punishments like stoning women to death, while girls were banned from schools.

Kabul’s negotiators want the Taliban to recognise the government, which the militants see as a US “puppet”. They also want the Taliban to agree to a ceasefire, acknowledge women’s rights and recognise other achievements of the past two decades.

Negotiations have raised hope among Afghans across the country that the grinding conflict might come to a halt. “We are desperate for peace. The killing of Afghans should be stopped,” said Kabul shopkeeper Abdullah, who lost a relative in a bomb attack that targeted Vice President Amrullah Saleh this week. “I’m not very optimistic about the future, but peace talks is a good first step to at least reduce the violence.”

Afghan school teacher Aminullah, who lives in restive Kunduz province, insisted that gains made in the past two decades should not be lost. “As much as we want peace, we also want the achievements of the past years kept,” he said. “I don’t want my school closed, but peace is the priority now.”