The writer is a staffer of the daily
The Taliban insurgents have intensified their attacks after refusing the peace talks and an increase in civilian casualties continues unabated. The fatal attack in Kabul a week after the Taliban declared their Operation Omari which killed and wounded hundreds of people shows a spike in violence and terror across the country. The political instability filled the air with a sense of chagrin and led to economic stagnation and mass exodus. Finding their life and liberty at stake, a large number of Afghan youth are taking refuge to Europe so as to survive the challenges – which imperils the sovereignty of the government.
Reports about civilians’ death toll make one more disappointed than ever before. To the Afghans’ unmitigated chagrin, the terrorist attacks carried out by warring parties, mainly the Taliban and the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), continue posing threat to their life and curtail their freedom to a great extent. Needless to say, resuming peace talks was the only gleam of hope for Afghan nation and people waited patiently for a fruitful result. However, the Taliban’s frequent refusal, setting hard preconditions, and intensifying their attacks left no room for peace and spread hatred and anger among the public, especially when the innocent people were the scapegoat of terror for a thousand and one times.
Despite all the said facts, UN secretary general’s special representative for Afghanistan Nicholas Haysom said that the quadrilateral talks had not failed and there was no option with the warring parties except peace in Afghanistan. According to him, efforts at reviving the stalled peace by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) of Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States did not meet failure and considered peace negotiation a solution to the current security crisis.
However, it is believed that peace talks will be no more than a political game, with expert players behind the scene, seeking to continue the game as long as possible and keep the government’s attention on it – no matter how fruitless it will be. Since the significance of peace talks have been magnified for many years, the questions arise in one’s mind is that why the talks never come to fruition? Who are the whistle-blowers? Why the public does not see a single step progress in peace talks after years of the government’s tireless struggles? Why violence and bloodshed have increased rather than being decreased recently? These questions are to be answered clearly and blank persistence on peace talks will not convince the public.
Although peace talks were a hot debate last year, our nation left a deadly year behind and the Taliban fighters captured large geographical parts in the country and inflicted heavy casualties upon our nation. As a result, in September 2015, the Taliban overran Kunduz, their first takeover of a major city since their fall from power in 2001. The Taliban also made gains in the south of the country in recent months, particularly in Helmand Province, where they control or pose a threat in majority of the 14 districts. In a nutshell, last year, the first since NATO ended combat operations, civilian casualties hit a record 11,002, with 3,545 deaths and 7,457 injuries. It was estimated that 60 percent of casualties were caused by anti-government forces including the Taliban and other groups such as Islamic State. Pro-government forces caused 19 percent of the total, but that was 70 percent higher than a year earlier. The rest could not be attributed directly. Over-all, 161 children were reportedly killed from January to March and 449 were wounded, a 29 percent rise over the first three months of 2015. In the period, civilian fatality reached 1,943, including 600 deaths and 1,343 injuries. The death rate was down 13 percent from the first quarter of 2105; however, the number of injuries was 11 percent higher.
Children were almost one-third of the nearly 2,000 civilian casualties caused by the Afghan conflict in the first three months of 2016 and there was a five percent rise in women being killed or wounded, which reflects an increase in fighting in built-up areas as the Taliban intensified its insurgency.
Daniel Bell, UNAMA human rights director, said, “If the fighting persists near schools, playgrounds, homes and clinics, and parties continue to use explosive weapons in those areas – particularly mortars and IED tactics, these appalling numbers of children killed and maimed will continue.”
At a time of raging violence, which also took the lives of nearly 6,000 members of the Afghan security forces last year, the top security ministries have been run by acting heads, who do not have parliamentary approval.
Considering these issues, I can claim with full confidence that peace talks have failed and it will no longer come to fruition. One cannot trust peace talks while suffering violence and bloodshed. One-sided optimism seems a self-deception as the other side wages strong attacks and refuses to hold talks. Boycotting talks by Afghan government following the Kabul’s deadly attack was a right decision as President Ashraf Ghani said that the Afghan government would never make peace with regional and international terrorists. It is simply said, “If you want peace, you must prepare for war.” So, peace comes through reinforcing the army and strengthening defensive and offensive mechanism. http://outlookafghanistan.net/topics.php?post_id=15226
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