While the American negotiation team led by Zalmay Khalilzad has held at least five rounds of talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar, and the two sides apparently agreed upon two main issues: foreign troop withdrawal timeline and guarantees by the Taliban not to allow anyone to pose a threat to the United States from Afghanistan, the National Unity Government (NUG) has unfortunately not been able so far to embrace a unified stance on peace within the government. Following initial talks with the Taliban, US Special Envoy for Afghan Reconciliation Khalilzad called on Afghan government and the Taliban to form authorized negotiation teams. The Taliban met the demand by appointing a delegation, but the President Ghani-led administration not only has not been able to form an inclusive, acceptable negotiation team, but also the main sides forming the government– President Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah– are still at loggerheads over peace. The disagreements between them are as deep as the Chief Executive Officer and his electoral team announced on Sunday their boycott of the consultative Loya Jirga on peace, which the government has already planned and is busy making arrangements for. Abdullah has said that he had not been consulted on the grand assembly that is set to create a framework and conditions for peace with the Taliban.
The Chief Executive Officer’s boycott of the consultative Loya Jirga is an astounding example of incoordination in the government. Although the government is trying to forge a national consensus on peace through the Jirga or the newly established Reconciliation Leadership Council, the divisions within the government are as serious as they can derail the peace process. Government leaders ought to bring all sides in the government onboard and embrace a unified stance on peace prior to working with opposition leaders to build a national consensus.
A government that cannot ensure coordination between its leaders on peace, how it can claim that it will bring all Afghan people together, and steer the country out of the conflict. Such divisions and incoordination within the government only help strengthen the Taliban’s position in talks, as it allows the insurgents to justify their refusal to talk to Afghan government and show to the world that the government is not a side with a unified stance and authority to implement its decisions. NUG leaders have to unify their stances before trying to build a national consensus or hold the consultative Loya Jirga on peace.