The Taliban’s spokesman, Mr Suhail Shaheen has unequivocally stated that while the group does not want to monopolise power, there will not be any peace in Afghanistan until a new negotiated government comes in and President Ghani is removed. There were murmurs doing the rounds that talks between the Taliban and the Ghani administration are dead, and this statement perhaps makes clear that there is now little likelihood of negotiations resuming between the two parties.
It was interesting to note and perhaps even encouraging that Mr Shaheen said that the Taliban does not believe in the monopoly of power and that mistakes from the past must not be repeated—apparently also including the Taliban’s own tenure in that assessment. Given the deteriorating situation on the ground in terms of violence levels, both internal and external stakeholders must push towards a scenario where talks can take place in the absence of bloodshed. If that requires a new negotiated government that is acceptable to all sides in the conflict, so be it.
One must not make the mistake of equating the Ghani administration with the whole of Afghanistan. It is important to consider that President Ghani’s critics—outside of the Taliban as well—have accused him of focusing on holding onto power and causing splits among government supporters.
Pakistan however must steer clear of taking any sides in this intra-Afghan issue, and should continue playing its role of convincing all the concerned parties to come to the table. Islamabad has played a sincere and constructive role in the process so far which has been acknowledged by both regional and international actors. Regardless of the baseless attacks that come Pakistan’s way, it must remain steadfast and continue playing the role of a facilitator. Of course, dishonest allegations must be dismissed and countered in the meantime so that no false impressions are allowed to take root. Therefore, it is important to expose the agenda of spoilers that are trying to poison bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad.
