“Any future peace deal will be done through the Afghan government only”

The situation in Afghanistan is changing very fast. The seventh round of talks between the US and the Taliban recently concluded in Doha. This time an intra-Afghan dialogue also took place with representatives of civil society in Afghanistan participating in large numbers. Germany will soon be hosting another round of intra-Afghan dialogue. Meanwhile, Presdent Ashraf Ghani also held a consultative peace jirga inside Afghanistan. To make sense of it all Aditi Bhaduri spoke to Mr. Tahir Qadiry, Charge d’Affaires at the Embassy of Afghanistan in New Delhi.

Can you walk us through all that is happening and give us a sense of where Afghanistan is at this moment.

Afghanistan is at an important juncture with elections coming up on 28 of September and the peace talks underway. The recent dialogue that happened in Doha [was] co-hosted by Germany and Qatar. Afghanistan has gone through a lot of pain, hardships, sorrow but the people are quite resilient. Despite suffering four decades of war and destruction, losing their loved ones, they are still resisting and striving to live their normal lives.

We have achieved so much over the last 18 years. Post the Taliban regime some of our biggest gains have been democracy, freedom of speech, human rights, women’s rights and so on. Women have more freedom than ever. For instance, Afghan women are working shoulder-to-shoulder with men in all spheres.

A young, dynamic, educated, and committed generation has emerged in Afghanistan, thanks to the international community, which has invested in Afghanistan with both blood and resources. The generous contribution of the international community and regional partners, in particular India, has helped with this tangible assistance in education.

Why am I talking about the young generation here? Because, quite recently a group of young Afghans faced the Taliban in Doha and am sure even the Taliban were surprised to see a new face of Afghanistan.

The young delegates challenged some of the Taliban’s viewpoints and reaffirmed their stance regarding preservation of what Afghanistan has gained so far.

What I am suggesting here is that Afghanistan has changed significantly. The will of Afghans can only be expressed through democratic processes like the elections. After the fall of the Taliban our democratic rights have been stipulated in the constitution, our democratic values and rights are enshrined in it. The enactment of the constitution has been a milestone in the Afghan political history.

Thus, any group that wants to integrate into [Afghan] society should embrace the constitution. Our young representatives made it clear to the Taliban that it is not [for] you [the Taliban] to grant them their rights. They already are enjoying their rights stipulated in the constitution.

If they Taliban really want to embrace peace, they must stop targeting civilians in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, that has not been the case so far. The bottom line is that the Taliban must integrate into Afghan society [and] not the other way round.

To ease the peace talks, the Afghan government back in late April convened a consultative peace Jirga attended by more than 3,000 people from different walks of society. As a result, they drew a roadmap for achieving peace. The roadmap reflects the rightful demands of the people which were preservation of the constitution and other democratic rights.

If they Taliban really want to embrace peace, they must stop targeting civilians in Afghanistan. Unfortunately, that has not been the case so far. The bottom line is that the Taliban must integrate into Afghan society [and] not the other way round.

Tell us about the Doha process. How useful have they actually been?

Afghans have been suffering for more than four decades now. Of course, they have had enough and have always expressed their thirst for peace and harmony.

The Doha talks were a good platform for Afghans and the Taliban to sit together across the table and to sort [out] their grievances. It was a good opportunity for the Taliban to face the reality of today’s Afghanistan, a country that has changed a lot in many ways.

As I mentioned earlier, the Afghan representatives expressed their very clear stance on vital issues. The women who were present there explicitly said that their rights had been stipulated in the constitution and thee were not a privilege to be granted by any particular group.

The peace will not happen overnight. So, there needs to be more such dialogues to work out differences in order to pave the way for an enduring peace.

Why are the Taliban attacking?

The Taliban have been losing on the battlefields. Our brave and strong Afghan National and Defence Security Forces (ANDSF) have been averting the Taliban attacks and launching offensive operations against them on different fronts.

The Taliban have not been able to capture any major district across Afghanistan. However, they have recently relied on attacking the civilians that again proves [that] they are losing on the battlefields and [are] retaliating by targeting the civilians.

The Afghan government controls almost the whole territory in Afghanistan. The Taliban may have little control over remote areas where people may not live in. All cities in Afghanistan are under the control of the Afghan government. For instance out of the 400 districts we have, the insurgents have presence in 22 districts.

Therefore, one of the main issues talked in Doha dialogue was reducing the violence against the civilians in Afghanistan.

Do you expect the elections to take place as scheduled in September 2019, given the scenario unfolding?

The Afghan government is very committed to holding the elections on 28th of September 2019. The government has reformed the electoral commission in order to ensure a transparent and fair election.

A few days back, the government announced that $149m USD budget [was] needed for the upcoming elections. The Afghan government is bearing $90m USD, the US Embassy in Kabul announced they are bearing $29m USD and the remaining amount will be paid by other donor countries.

The only way forward is holding the elections on time so that people can practice their democratic rights.

 The Taliban is not interested in the elections, right?

As I mentioned earlier, today’s Afghan polity is based on democratic institutions. First of all, we need to see what kind of political settlement Afghanistan will have with the Taliban. But, one thing is for certain that we must protect our democratic process.

There have been no representatives of the Afghan government in the talks with the Taliban till now.

The Afghan government has always emphasized that if there is a peace deal in the future it has to be Afghan-owned, Afghan-controlled, and Afghan-led peace process. In late April [this year] President Ashraf Ghani convened the Consultative Loya Jirga which created a road-map for the government to pursue peace. The people’s demands, concerns and red-lines have been drawn in that road-map. The Afghan government has been forming a national, regional, and international consensus to pursue a united stance as per the peace talks. His Excellency President Ashraf Ghani has been asking for a broader international coalition in this regard.

So far what we saw have been dialogues with the Taliban and any future deal will be done through the Afghan government only.

The Afghan government has always emphasized that if there is a peace deal in the future it has to be Afghan-owned, Afghan-controlled, and Afghan-led peace process.

Who controls the Taliban? Where are they getting their arms and ammunition from? We know about Pakistan. Any other country?

The answer is very obvious. The Taliban enjoy external support and have their sanctuaries outside Afghanistan.

Has the Islamic State really acquired a foothold in Afghanistan? If yes, how much, to what extent, and how much of a threat are they to Afghanistan and the region?

ISIS has had a presence in some parts of Afghanistan. Without a doubt, their presence is an immediate threat for Afghanistan and a potential menace for the region. So, we need a collective effort to dismantle them. We have always said that a stable Afghanistan is a stable region. Now that Afghanistan is connecting itself to the region through air corridors, by lands and seas, its stability is very important for the region’s economic prosperity.

So ISIS is not really such a threat that some countries in the region are making it out to be?

We cannot measure threats. A threat is a threat, no matter in what scale it might be. Anything that poses danger to the national security, stability and disrupts people’s normal lives is a real threat.  Our ANDSF have been fighting different terrorist groups on many fronts and they have had huge achievements in this regard.

Germany is hosting the next round of talks. Will it again be intra-Afghan talks?

The recent peace talks were co-hosted by Germany and Qatar. The United States has been leading the process since its inception. We are appreciative of the efforts put by different countries to make an enduring and sustainable peace deal possible.

Will the Afghan government also be participating in these upcoming talks?

Any future peace deal will be through the Afghan government. Inclusive peace talks will ensure the sustainability of a political settlement.

The US has said it will not abandon Afghanistan. So you expect troops to remain in the country?

Afghanistan has gained a lot over the last 18 years. We have been fulfilling our responsibilities and duties to provide better services.

Since 2014 the Afghan security forces have taken up the responsibility of protecting Afghanistan. Despite many challenges, suffering high casualties, they have been fighting with a very high morale. We appreciate our international partners’ efforts so far; whose soldiers also sacrificed their lives alongside the Afghan security forces for a shared goal.

To continue to keep building on the achievements of the past 18 years, Afghanistan would still need international support for a while.

The Taliban have clearly stated their position – that they will implement all agreements reached with the Americans only after a full US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan. Do you think the Taliban will climb down from that position?

Well, US President Donald Trump has said that even after reaching a deal with the Taliban, they would have some sort of presence in Afghanistan.

There is a perception that the Afghan government is weak, fractious, and corrupt. That is why countries have been reaching out to the Taliban.

I don’t agree at all. You don’t know what Afghanistan has been through. We have had ups and downs and have come a long way. Although there are still challenges, we have lots of success stories as well. Of course, healing the wounds and scars of the war requires time. However, our achievements outweigh the challenges.

Corruption is a worldwide phenomenon. The Afghan government has been firmly fighting this malicious disease and as a result, we have witnessed reforms and progress.

What does Afghanistan expect from Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan? He has been making the right noises and moves…

Our president HE Mohammad Ashraf Ghani recently travelled to Pakistan to discuss security, regional connectivity and the Afghan peace process with the Pakistani authorities.

We expect Pakistan to cooperate with Afghanistan in countering terrorism and insurgency. Because a stable Afghanistan is a stable and prosperous region.

How do you see the role of Russia and China?

There are many stakeholders in the peace process. Russia and China are both important countries and we hope they stand by Afghanistan in the pursuit of peace and stability.

There are concerns that India has lost out in Afghanistan….

Of course not. Perhaps I would rather say that India is not engaged enough in the peace talks. Therefore, we would like to see a more pro-active role for India in the process. India is a regional power and the largest regional donor to Afghanistan, and an emerging global power so it can use any international platform to lobby for the government in Afghanistan, to advocate for the rights of Afghan people and for the democratic values that they share. Apart from many other things one of the most important things that we share with India is our democratic values.  The Afghan government is very clear that if there is a peace process then it has to be Afghan led, Afghan controlled and Afghan owned process.

India is not engaged enough in the peace talks. Therefore, we would like to see a more pro-active role for India in the process

We express our gratitude to India for standing by the Afghan government in supporting an Afghan-controlled and Afghan-owned peace process.

Aditi Bhaduri

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