Following several rounds of peace talks between American diplomats and Taliban representatives, Afghan government has been under growing pressure to form an inclusive, unified and national negotiating team. US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has recurrently urged Afghan government over recent weeks to create an inclusive, national negotiating team to join in peace talks with Taliban negotiators. Khalilzad’s call comes as a delegation of American diplomats under his leadership is set to hold fifth round of talks with Taliban representatives on Monday in Doha, the capital city of Qatar.
Although Afghan government has announced the creation of a 12-member team for negotiations with Taliban, it has since then been under fire for the composition of the team whose almost all members are not only politically little known figures but also lack the professional capacity to negotiate extremely complicated issues such as Afghan war and peace. When the government made the announcement of the team, a number of peace activists described the move even as government’s lack of political will and desire for peace, accusing it of sabotaging the new US-led push for peace with Taliban.
Despite its refusal to engage with the government-announced negotiating team, the Taliban now appear to be ready to talk with an Afghan team involving prominent political and influential figures in addition to Afghan government’s interlocutors. The likely shift in Taliban’s stance is a positive development. Leaders of the National Unity Government must adequately utilize the opportunity by creating an inclusive, acceptable negotiating team. If they fail to form such a team, the Taliban will continue to engage with influential political figures and representatives of political parties, thereby further sidelining the government in peace talks, something that can hurt the ongoing peace parleys. It can also draw a reaction from people who want peace more than anything else.
The fast-approaching fighting season and record level of casualties among Afghan National Defense and Security Forces further underline the need for the formation of an inclusive negotiating team that can hold successful peace talks with the Taliban. The best scenario for Afghanistan will be to reach a ceasefire deal before the Taliban announce their spring offensive, and then continue discussions during the year over details of a possible peace agreement that can fundamentally end the decades-long war imposed on Afghans