No doubt the situation in Afghanistan is getting grimmer day by day while President Ashraf Ghani has linked any peace prospect with the condition of ending terror. He has given two options to the Taliban. They should either choose peace or terrorism. He also cautioned that there will be no tolerance for terrorism. After decades of infighting and invasions, the ground is being paved for reviving a peace process in war-torn Afghanistan. Since 2001, when the Taliban were pushed from power by the US, the Musharraf regime kept its covert ties intact with the Taliban, though Pakistan has remained in a state of denial with regard to these links. The US was fully aware of these ties but was forced to rely on Pakistan for two reasons. First, the US needed Pakistan to carry out its operations in landlocked Afghanistan. Second, the Pakistan army was the only powerful force in the region that could play a role for the US in the long run. This love-hate relationship has been going on since then. A change in the policies of the establishment came after terrorists launched attacks inside Pakistan. Attacks on security installations by the Taliban forced the establishment to change its viewpoint while the APS Peshawar tragedy completely changed the scenario.
The US and western world has perceived this change and they are once again nudging Pakistan to use its influence on the Taliban to bring them to the negotiating table. In this scenario, the participation of China is significant. China has emerged as a local power and it has its concerns about increasing militancy in the region. So China is persuading Pakistan and the US is asking Afghanistan to engag in the peace process. However, President Ashraf Ghani is facing a number of challenges. His “side” is riven by rivalries, quarrels and competitive corruption. The power struggles on the government side have undermined all its policies, including defence. At the same time, the Taliban have intensified attacks and are making significant gains against the Afghan forces. The situation is very complicated and difficult for the Ghani government. The way to peace is difficult as there are many differences in the militants’ ranks who are engaged in bloody infighting over the leadership succession, which has made it difficult to identify which parts of the movement may be open to talks and which remain committed to the insurgency.
In these chaotic developments, peace may look like a real option to all sides, which is why the efforts to revive the peace talks now underway, involving Pakistan, China and the US, as well as Afghanistan itself. This must be welcomed. It is hoped that positive developments would emerge from the upcoming talks. A political settlement in Afghanistan is in the interests of all stakeholder states and it will also make a positive impact on the whole world. www.dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/02-Jan-2016/peace-talks
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