indiaanditsneighbours
18 News the Newsbehind JULY 08, 2019COMMENT
TALIBAN-PAKISTAN NEXUS
AN OBSTACLE TO AFGHAN
PEACE
Neelapu Shanti
Th e increasing spate of attacks in
Afghanistan by the Taliban once again
highlights the grim security situation
and extremist group’s true intentions,
amid the seventh round of peace talks
between the United States and the
Taliban in Qatar.
A powerful car bomb explosion
by the Taliban on Monday (July 1)
in the heart of Kabul city recalled
the radical increase of bloodshed in
both wars and everyday confl icts. Th e
spiralling attacks in Afghanistan show
that the density of everyday violence is
proportional to the country’s quest for
peace, fuelled by terrorism. Monday’s
deadly explosion killing around 40
people and injuring more than 100,
including women and children, spells
the Taliban’s irrational thirst for a
victorious war in Afghanistan.
Th e epidemic culture of violence in
Afghanistan is refl ected in the reports
of the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
From January 1 to March 31, 2019,
UNAMA documented 1,773 civilian
casualties (581 deaths and 1,192
injured), including 582 child casualties
(150 deaths and 432 injured).
The ravaged history of
Afghanistan’s foreign invasions and
external infl uences fuelling terrorism
makes it diffi cult for the country to
discover its national identity. Viewing
the recent developments, the Taliban
has come to the table to negotiate
peace in Afghanistan without involving
the Afghan government.
Peace and increasingly violent
terror attacks by the Taliban are going
hand in hand. Vicious extremist
attacks, withdrawal of US troops,
postponement of elections and
inconclusive peace negotiations by
the Taliban are subtle signals for
Afghanistan in shifting the country’s
agenda to an ‘Afghan-led Afghan-
owned’ government. Th ere are many
signs of the Taliban’s unwillingness
to restore peace in Afghanistan, with
its aggressive attitude not fi ne-tuned
with the interests of the people of
the country, highlighting political
contradictions.
Th e Taliban’s preconditions involve
the withdrawal of U.S and NATO
forces, an interim government and
setting aside democ ratic law, clearly
indicating that it is bargaining
for peace for lethal motives and
not actually for the sovereignty of
Afghanistan.
The Taliban suicide bombers’
attack in Maroof district in southern
Kandahar province on June 29 killed
19 government officials, including
Independent Election Commission
staff , who were deployed to register
voters for the upcoming presidential
elections on September 28. The
security issue is raised at every stage,
with catastrophic conditions created
by Taliban factions while negotiating
peace.
It is important to understand who
are the major players in destabilising
Afghanistan. Th e Taliban insurgents
have been receiving external support
from other countries and one among
them is Pakistan, which involves
the re-emergence of the Pakistan-
Taliban.
Pakistan, which has been on the
back foot after the Balakot attack, now
wants to assert itself in the region.
With the regressive Pakistani policy on
Afghanistan, a variety of terrorism rears
its head time and again, interfering in
the political and economic integration
of the South Asian region.
Pakistan’s destructive potentialfor state sponsorship of terrorism
in Afghanistan is apparent from it
giving refuge to Taliban leaders in
Pakistan, the deportation of Afghan
Taliban leaders and the supply of
arms and ammunition to the Taliban
in Afghanistan. Th e blurring of lines
between war and peace is currently
drifting in the wrong direction.
Th e United States’ role to end the
18 years of bloodshed in Afghanistan
must bring a constructive outcome
while negotiating with the Taliban.
They cannot decide or completely
rely on irrational ideologies of the
Taliban for an absolute ceasefire.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s peace
proposal at the Kabul Conference
last year outlined a peace deal titled
‘Off ering Peace: Framing the Kabul
Conference,’ with a clear, altruistic
motive catering for the welfare of the
country and people of Afghanistan.
Ghani’s off er of a peace deal with
the Taliban included (a) constitutional
rights of all citizens (especially women)
being ensured (b) Constitutional
reforms being undertaken through
constitutional provisions (c) defence
and security forces and civil services
functioning according to the law
and (d) no armed groups with ties to
transnational criminal organisations,
or with state/non-state actors, seeking
influence in Afghanistan, to be
allowed.
A peace deal, and peace in
Afghanistan, would be a distant
dream if the Taliban do not give up
violence. Th e Taliban’s intention is
to re-establish their regime with the
support of Pakistan and other external
terrorist factions. Th e Taliban has to
come to meaningful terms with the
government through a democratic
process in Afghanistan.
(The author is a journalist,
formerly associated with the Afghan
government)