Seeking a path to peace
‘Sustainable peace’ is the goal, Afghan president says
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s president opened a grand council on Monday of more than 3,200 Afghans seeking to agree on a common approach to peace talks with the Taliban.
President Ashraf Ghani hopes to showcase unity at the four-day meeting known as a loya jirga, a deeply-rooted tradition aimed at building consensus among Afghanistan’s various ethnic groups, tribes and factions. Ghani’s loya jirga includes politicians, tribal elders and many prominent figures.
But Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, his partner in a unity government brokered by the United States after a bitterly disputed election in 2014, heads a list of no-shows, raising fears that the gathering may further aggravate divisions within the U.S.-backed government.
Former President Hamid Karzai, who also is not attending, said on Monday that holding the council at this time risks “delaying and causing an impediment to the peace process.” The loya jirga was intended to strengthen Ghani’s hand but risks being seen as just a gathering of loyalists.
Karzai also voiced concern that Ghani’s sidelining of his chief executive could trigger suspicions that Ghani is more motivated by personal ambitions than by peace.
However, in his welcome address to delegates, Ghani said, “We are all here to talk about the framework of peace talks with the Taliban. … Reaching a sustainable peace is very important to us.”
Waving a copy of Afghanistan’s constitution, Ghani lauded it as the most Islamic of constitutions — an apparent message to the Taliban who have suggested they want to negotiate articles within the charter, without specifying.
Ghani gave the chairmanship of the council to Abdul Rasool Sayyaf, a former warlord with past links to Osama bin Laden and the militants who took control of Kabul after the collapse of the communist government in the early 1990s. He is known for adhering to a strict interpretation of Islam, and refusing to meet with women.
During the 2002 loya jirga to devise Afghanistan’s constitution after the U.S. invasion, it was Sayyaf and his political allies who pressed for the inclusion of a clause prohibiting any laws that are deemed unacceptable to Islam.
In several rounds of talks with the Taliban, U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has narrowed the gaps on a deal under which U.S. forces would withdraw in return for guarantees that Afghanistan not revert to a haven for international terrorists. But Khalilzad has struggled to get Afghans to agree on a roadmap for the country’s future.
The Taliban have refused to directly talk to Kabul representatives, viewing the government as a U.S. puppet.
Ahead of the council, Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Wilson Center, said that “if Abdullah and his supporters don’t attend, there’s going to be a glaring absence of key stakeholders that will diminish the event’s credibility in a big way.”
“Given all the divides in Afghanistan, there is as much of a need for reconciliation within Afghanistan as there is for reconciliation with the Taliban,” he added.
The latest attempt at Afghan-to-Afghan talks — scheduled in Qatar earlier this month and intended to include the Taliban, Kabul government representatives, the opposition and other prominent figures — collapsed as the two sides were unable to agree on the participants.
Karzai urged the U.S. to do more to press all sides to the table. “We are in a great hurry for peace.”
In a statement, the U.S. State Department said the Taliban have agreed to fight Islamic State militants in Afghanistan and sever ties with al-Qaida, the Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement and other militant groups. It said the Taliban have promised to “ensure the areas they control will not be used to threaten any other country.” The Taliban effectively control nearly half of Afghanistan and have continued to carry out daily attacks.
Ordinary Afghans, who have endured decades of war, express frustration with both sides of the conflict.
Hajji Sher Aga, who owns a gas station near Kabul, complained about the lack of security and lawlessness. He blamed widespread government corruption and said peace with the Taliban was the only answer.
“The Taliban are also Afghan,” said Hajji Noor Aga, one of his workers.