Peace often becomes a subjective term in parts of Afghanistan; there are provinces that have witnessed a lower incidence of violence over the years, but as the talks stagnate, even those areas are now under threat. Tuesday saw twin blasts rock the Bamiyan province, leaving at least 17 dead and 50 injured in their wake.
Talks in Afghanistan have stalled to the point where no new update has come out in the last months. The sticking points are the same as ever; the future structure of the Afghan government, the extent of power-sharing and the amount of freedoms and rights for civilians protected in the state moving forward. These remain key issues and so far, no noise has come out of either camp of finding a middle ground.
These are long-standing issues, and undoubtedly both sides have a vision for what is to come. The problem lies in how far apart these contrasting perspectives are between the two sides. This ideological difference is not just a time delay however; while the stakeholders deliberate, innocent Afghans are dying everyday as the violence escalates.
At this point, no new agreement has been found in the intra-Afghan talks since they began earlier in the year. The only way to overcome the deadlock is for the international community to intervene. A ceasefire must be agreed to at the outset, with a commitment by both sides—the Taliban and the Afghan government—to actively counter other non-state actors that are looking to take advantage of the situation.
If the US really wants a quick exit from Afghanistan—at least one within the next six months—it must look to step in and try and resolve the sticking points. Other powers must intervene where possible; Pakistan has been consistently willing to involve itself when needed. This is not to say that the negotiations will not be “Afghan-led or Afghan-owned”; far from it. It will merely be a means to find a compromise between two parties that still stand some way apart.
https://nation.com.pk/26-Nov-2020/breaking-the-deadlock
Breaking The Deadlock: edit in The Nation, Nov 26, 2020
Peace often becomes a subjective term in parts of Afghanistan; there are provinces that have witnessed a lower incidence of violence over the years, but as the talks stagnate, even those areas are now under threat. Tuesday saw twin blasts rock the Bamiyan province, leaving at least 17 dead and 50 injured in their wake.
Talks in Afghanistan have stalled to the point where no new update has come out in the last months. The sticking points are the same as ever; the future structure of the Afghan government, the extent of power-sharing and the amount of freedoms and rights for civilians protected in the state moving forward. These remain key issues and so far, no noise has come out of either camp of finding a middle ground.
These are long-standing issues, and undoubtedly both sides have a vision for what is to come. The problem lies in how far apart these contrasting perspectives are between the two sides. This ideological difference is not just a time delay however; while the stakeholders deliberate, innocent Afghans are dying everyday as the violence escalates.
At this point, no new agreement has been found in the intra-Afghan talks since they began earlier in the year. The only way to overcome the deadlock is for the international community to intervene. A ceasefire must be agreed to at the outset, with a commitment by both sides—the Taliban and the Afghan government—to actively counter other non-state actors that are looking to take advantage of the situation.
If the US really wants a quick exit from Afghanistan—at least one within the next six months—it must look to step in and try and resolve the sticking points. Other powers must intervene where possible; Pakistan has been consistently willing to involve itself when needed. This is not to say that the negotiations will not be “Afghan-led or Afghan-owned”; far from it. It will merely be a means to find a compromise between two parties that still stand some way apart.
https://nation.com.pk/26-Nov-2020/breaking-the-deadlock
Published in Pak Media comment and Pakistan