No doubt the Afghan conflict has no military solution, but it does not mean the government should, in the midst of intense fighting, focus on peace as much as that it leads to the downfall of the government before reaching a peace deal. As peace efforts have started to pick up steam, Taliban attacks have also recently escalated. There are daily reports of fall of regions to the Taliban, as well as heavy casualties inflicted on Afghan forces. Only in the last couple of days, tens of Afghan forces have been killed or wounded in Ghazni and Paktika provinces.
The Taliban may further intensify their attacks in a bid to enter any possible peace talks from a “position of strength”. With undivided attention to the issue, Afghan government should also be fully prepared to manage the war in the process of peace talks. Before or during a possible ceasefire, the government should be ready militarily for the repercussions in case the potential peace parleys with the Taliban fail. The government should not try to hide its military failure behind peace efforts. Peace is a long-held aspiration of Afghans, but it should not be costlier for Afghan people and security forces than war.
Both war management and peace talks with insurgents are government responsibility. The government should be very cautious not to forget about the increasingly deteriorating security situation by being too obsessed about peace promises especially made by Pakistan and the United States, as often are they not genuine. Afghan government should pay keen attention to manage the security situation though the renewed peace talks are different from the past because they would always get heated when winter was approaching.
One of the difficulties of peaceful settlement of a conflict is that victory and strength on the battlefield should never be set aside at the same time as the warring sides get to the negotiation table to bargain for peace. The lavish peace meetings should not mesmerize the political leaders as much as they forget the dust-covered faces of frontline soldiers. Although it is difficult to strike a balance between peace and military efforts, it is the only way to steer the country out of the current woes.
The possible peace parleys, war management
