Towards peace

Afghanistan appears to be moving more swiftly towards peace than at any time in the recent past. Certainly, the mood is upbeat, and Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special envoy to Afghanistan, after spending two days in Pakistan where he met with the prime minister, the foreign minister, the army chief and others, seemed more confident than before that peace would be possible. Khalilzad will go into talks with Taliban leaders in Doha. Khalilzad has made it clear that peace would be possible only if both Afghanistan and Pakistan’s territory is not used against each other – something we have seen over and over again in the past. A repetition would mean only more unrest and continued war in Afghanistan, a country which has not known peace for more than four decades now. It certainly deserves a period of calm so it can rebuild and offer its people an opportunity to get on with ordinary lives.US President Donald Trump, while rather unnecessarily again repeating that the US could wipe out Afghanistan using conventional weapons has stressed he has no intention of doing so. Trump has made it clear he sees November 2020, the date for the next US election, as the deadline for the peace process to work. This is not too far away. Pakistan’s role remains that of a force that needs to pacify the Taliban and persuade them to keep the promises they have made. We must hope past association with the group will give it enough leverage to achieve this, even though Pakistani leaders have been stressing the matter is not a simple one. Essentially, all parties have to play together and work in unison. Unless they do so, there will be no peace.The strategy it seems has been worked out. Talks continue. But given the fragile situation inside Afghanistan, where the Taliban control more than 40 percent of the country, even a small difference can lead to a major fallout. Diplomacy then must be careful, meticulous and well planned. Khalilzad seems determined to achieve this. There is simply no room for failure. An inability to establish peace in Afghanistan is unimaginable. The consequences would be horrendous. Pakistan recognises the urgent need for peace on its western border and is trying to do all it can to achieve this without intervening in anything else in Afghanistan. The US needs to move out of a region it has effectively destroyed. If all this can happen, peace is achievable. It now appears to be just around the corner and we hope there are no further hurdles placed along the way.

from The News International - Editorial https://ift.tt/2MEmE12