Qatar and Germany is hosting an intra-Afghan peace conference today and tomorrow in Doha, where Taliban representatives with meet with 50 delegates from Kabul who have participated in the meeting in their personal capacity rather than representing Afghan government, and can only exchange their personal viewpoints.
As the United States and the Taliban have inched closer to a potential deal that would involve the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, intra-Afghan dialogue is an inescapable necessity for a comprehensive peace agreement as the Taliban’s agreement with Americans alone cannot put an end to the savage war. It is right that the ongoing war in Afghanistan is a war of strategic foreign interests, but the domestic factors also cannot be utterly overlooked. Afghan sides have their own internal differences, which are impossible to ignore. Thus, Afghans also need to agree on the form and nature of working together, and future government system, and it is better to clear the path for such an agreement as early as possible. The intra-Afghan conference in Doha is a key, welcome step towards achieving the goal.
The benefit of the meetings among Afghans is to establish trust and understanding between the Taliban and those who have been in power since the ouster of the Taliban regime, a prerequisite for sustainable peace and political stability in the country. Peace will not come in absence of an intra-Afghan agreement acceptable to all even if foreign troops leave the country. Under such circumstances, there is a fear of a more bloody war. Therefore, the internal barriers to peace should be addressed simultaneously with the foreign ones, and intra-Afghan negotiations are the only way to do so.
The participants of Doha conference need to focus on bridging the gap between the warring sides. In this round of talks, they should at least identify the points on which Afghan sides will more likely agree. Once Afghans inch closer to an agreement on those issues, then come will the turn for matters that are not easy for them to settle.
