Reduction of violence is said to be on agenda of the new round of talks that kicked off between the United States and the Taliban on Saturday in Doha. Violence needs to decline to create a climate of trust between the warring sides, and the discussions over the issue will prove useful and make sense when Afghan people actually see an improvement in the security situation. The Taliban rejected media reports that the Taliban and American troops will no more target each other, saying that a safe passage would be provided to the departing foreign troops after the signing of the peace agreement. It means that the war and fratricide among Afghans will still continue even after the US-Taliban peace deal.
The Taliban claim that the presence of foreign troops, especially American, in Afghanistan is the main cause of war. When the Taliban reach an agreement with what they call their “main enemy”, there is no justification for the rebels to continue the fight. If the Taliban reach a ceasefire with Americans but continue to kill their fellow Afghans, it will augment the public’s hatred towards them. Armistice only with foreigners will be a Taliban mistake that can destroy their political future. They need public support when and if they take over power whether through force or political compromise, as they cannot contain millions of people with the barrel of a gun forever, especially the new generation of Afghans connected with the world and can easily raise their voices.
The US-Taliban deal will obsolete the Taliban’s last pretext for continuation of the war. Therefore, the Taliban should accept a nationwide ceasefire and bring the suffering of the nation to an end, as they seal a deal with the United States. Truce with Americans and fight with Afghans will substantiate the claim that the Taliban are not a group fighting for the freedom of the country, as they claim, and are rather a proxy force that has nothing to offer to Afghan people except destruction, killing and disruption of Afghanistan’s progress and development. Truce is a litmus test for the Taliban; their failure poses a serious threat to their political future.
