Afghan Peace Quagmire

Naseebullah khan
After Doha agreement between the US government and the Taliban, the hope of peace in Afghanistan had echoed. The second phase of negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban has not met the success. This confrontation has for the time being jeopardized the dream of peace.The blaming and shaming and the covert aims on the part of all three stakeholders could further deteriorate the stitches. Rationality is the sine qua non of the present morass. Compromise from the Taliban and the Afghan government on the points of discard be espoused. Recalcitration and egotism would never benefit any party. The major sufferers will ultimately be the Afghans. What come may, the give and take policy must be embraced by all stakeholders. A win_win situation will be; when peace returns to this war_torn country. The exasperation of Mr. Ashraf Ghani over the policy statement of the US administration and the assertions of the Taliban indicate that the apple of discord is over two points vis_a_vis the US withdrawal by May 2021 and the reign of the government after the pull-out. The Taliban are demanding the US withdrawal plan by May, 2021 and the resignation of the Ghani    government, while the US coupled with its NATO allies are hesitating to do so. On the flip side, Mr Ashraf Ghani has spurned the dictation of the Taliban. New and old players like China, Turkey, India, Russia, and the neighbouring states have also been eyeing on the situation keenly. They all have been in search of preserving their interests through their proxies in Afghanistan. This situation has further complicated the endless issue of Afghanistan, where every country has its own priorities including the USA and the NATO. It has been resulting in the peace process in Afghanistan in perils. One thing is for sure, the fate and future of Afghanistan are in the hands of the Afghans themselves. They ought to stop hostilities. The lust of power hunger will not benefit anyone. The Afghans themselves have to realize the intensity of the war, that war has not been the solution for decades. Bullet cannot be the option. Until the Afghans themselves are used against each other as proxies by foreigners, the dream of peaceful Afghanistan would not meet. Presently, the onus is on the shoulders of the Taliban. They must show flexibility over the issue of toppling the elected government. The suitable option for the Taliban is to agree on taking part in the election. And not let this peace opportunity fail.