While the United States and the Taliban are almost a step away from reaching a peace deal, Kabul and Washington seems not to be on the same page. The statements of Afghan officials and US Special Representative for Afghan Peace Zalmay Khalilzad indicate that the US and Afghan governments have not yet managed to overcome their differences over Afghan peace process.
State Minister for Peace Affairs Abdul Salam Rahimi said on Saturday that formal direct talks between Afghan government and the Taliban would start in the next two weeks in an unidentified European country. Just hours later, Khalilzad said in a tweet that intra-Afghan negotiations would happen only after the United States and Taliban conclude their agreements. The talks would take place between the Taliban and an inclusive national negotiating team consisting of government officials, representatives of key political parties, civil society and women, the envoy added.
The disagreements between Afghan government and Americans apparently stem from the makeup and leadership of the negotiating team. The President Ghani-led administration is trying to assume the leadership of the talks, but Americans disagree, and are seeking to equate the standing of the government with that of the political and civil society groups. The inclusion of representatives of political parties and civil society is a necessity which cannot be ignored, but to have someone else other than the government lead the peace talks is not in the interests of the country and people. The problem is that political parties in Afghanistan cannot truly represent the masses as most of them have been formed to protect the interests of their founders or leaders than represent people. Previous elections showed that they do not represent people as much as they claim; therefore, the United States and the Taliban have to accept Afghan government as a party to the negotiation.
Considering the intensity of the new wave of violence currently battering the country, Kabul and Washington must put an end to their differences, and open the door for face-to-face talks with the Taliban by forming an inclusive negotiating team, thereby avoiding the loss of the unprecedented opportunity for the political settlement of the decades-long, bloody war imposed on Afghans. The waste of this opportunity will be tantamount to the failure of both Afghan government and the United States and success for countries and groups that have fought against Afghan government and Americans for the last two decades.