The newly-“chosen” Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, in his first public message, has asked the US to end its occupation of Afghanistan. He has advised the US to shun the use of force and get out of the country. The message is nothing more than an empty threat, as a large number of Afghans are being killed almost daily due to attacks carried out by the Taliban. It is a fight between the Taliban and the incumbent Afghan government, while the US has a secondary role. Even if the US quits Afghanistan now, nothing would be left except anarchy in the war-ravaged country. If Akhundzada cares so much about his nation then he should stop killing his own countrymen first. US forces are present in Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban in collaboration with the elected Afghan government. It is up to the Afghan government that it could ask the US to leave the country, and not the Taliban who are imposing their misplaced ideology on the Afghan nation. The Taliban are waging a war against their own countrymen. So far, they have got control of 31 districts out of 398 in Afghanistan.
Instead of issuing such bombastic but vacuous statements, the Taliban leader needs to take stock of his own actions. Why are the Taliban killing innocent civilians in Afghanistan? What is their agenda? Due to the offensive mounted by the Taliban, the situation is getting grimmer day by day. Nobody knows what would be the outcome of this uncertainty. Due to barbaric attacks by the Taliban, peace has become a distant dream for the Afghan nation. Afghanistan remains battered by violence, as there does not seem to be a foreseeable end to the ongoing war. Already the Afghan nation has paid a heavy price for an almost one-and-a-half decade long war. Millions of Afghan have been displaced, and are living in other countries in miserable conditions. Women, children and old people are the biggest casualties of the Afghan war, a long story of horror, suffering and pain that does not seem to have any ending.
In this situation, if the US leaves Afghanistan, the present civilian set-up would not be able to sustain the departure, and it would collapse due to the existing instability. Instead of giving messages to the US, the Taliban leadership of Afghanistan should stop fighting with the Afghan government, and come to the negotiating table. Other stakeholder countries including the US, Pakistan and China need to steer up efforts for getting the Taliban engaged in peace talks. Peace must be given a chance as the Taliban and the Afghan government are the main stakeholders, and they have to find a way for a peaceful settlement.
Instead of prolonging the war that has already left catastrophic effects on the Afghan nation, efforts must be made for peaceful settlement of all issues. Pakistan needs to use its influence to bring those Taliban to the negotiating table who are willing to lay their arms, while the US and China in cooperation with other countries need to launch military offensive against the irreconcilable Taliban. Those militants who are ready to quit violence must be engaged in talks, as peace is in the interests of all stakeholder countries, the region and the world. http://dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/05-Jul-16/taliban-afghan-government-and-the-us
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