A saying by the Taliban leaders in Afghanistan goes, “Americans have all the clocks, but we have all the time.’’ Almost two decades since America went to war in Afghanistan, it never provided a plausible explanation of its goals and how it planned to achieve them. In retrospect, it is obvious that the US-led NATO invasion was an overreaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
In the present scenario, a new beginning for Afghanistan is in the making. This can wave strong feelings for Afghanistan Déjà vu moment in the air amid a surge of radicalization and extremist activities.
The future must be decided by the Afghan natives who have suffered a lot from this decades-long war, human rights violation, and civil unrest in the country.
The total failure of the American-led military misadventure in Afghanistan despite the huge loss in blood and treasure raises significant questions about the rationale of the US-led NATO invasion of the country and of how to address the consequences. America has failed to understand Afghanistan, and policies towards the country have not achieved positive results. America’s flawed policies and misadventure in Afghanistan clearly reflect the mistake that it had experienced in the Vietnam’s war.
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The future must be decided by the Afghan natives who have suffered a lot from this decades-long war, human rights violation, and civil unrest in the country.
Fundamental reasons contributing to the lack of progress in the intra-Afghan talks have been the myriad existing dichotomy among the Afghan factions and a reluctance to show flexibility to fulfill commitments. With the drastically changing situation in Afghanistan, corridors of power with the chances of a complete take-overare more likely to happen by the Taliban.
Despite Afghan willingness to reach a consensus through intra-Afghan dialogue, differences remain far apart on major issues such as future governance etc. There are fears which plague the prospect of a peaceful reconciliation among the warring groups.
On the flip side, the Taliban has emerged again as a main political force in the power game. However, they must stop bloodshed and terrorism on Afghan soil. Obviously, without reaching a consensus on a new political setup, there will be no end to the civil unrest in Afghanistan even after the US complete its troop’s withdrawal.
Despite the foreign invasion, the Taliban struggles for their de facto status be revived and that it has been only be a step away once the US troops are gone.
Still, it has been a concern that a Taliban take-over is no guarantee for resulting in permanent peace. As a matter of fact, some analysts worry that such a scenario could signal the advent of a fresh wave of hostility and radicalization. The international community will not allow any terrorist group to operate from the Afghan territory against any other country.
It is hard to predict permanent circumstances. Afghanistan had hovered between two mindsets: the one in view of negotiated settlement exclusively on its terms, and the other asserting both its de jure and de facto legitimacy to rule the country. It is the fusion of clashes of power, resilience, and even ego.
Despite Taliban control of Kabul and most parts of the country, internal instability in Afghanistan could have larger regional security ramifications on Pakistan, China, Iran, Central Asian republics, Russia and other adjacent countries. Afghanistan must stop blaming Pakistan for its civil unrest and appreciate Pakistan’s efforts in bringing parties to the negotiating table and facilitating US-Taliban peace agreement, as well as its potential role in inclusive negotiating process.
Peace in Afghanistan is important to regional cooperation between Central and South Asia. Central Asian republics and Pakistan consider peace and stability in Afghanistan a pre-requisite for broader regional alignments. Pakistan and the Central Asia republics have played a dynamic role in bringing peace to the region and resolving Afghan conflict.
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On the other side, the immorality of the US invasion was aggravated by its flawed strategy pursued in the wake of its invasion. US decided to pull out its troops when China has been connecting countries all over the world through its new narratives and exceptional Belt and Road Initiative.
The US has neglected all the regional partners in the Afghan peace process and has been trying to sabotage China’s rising influence in the region through its belligerent moves. And the US has disturbed regional peace and stability as the Taliban gainscontrol in Afghanistan with US troops’ withdrawal.
Among all the chaos created by the US is a dire need to find a broad-based and inclusive settlement through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace building and process of reconstruction.
Now is a time that all regional players must be integrated, and the prerogative of plebiscite should be given to the Afghan people only. They have to decide their future and fate.
The author is Executive Director, Center for Global & Strategic Studies (CGSS), Islamabad. The views don’t necessarily reflect those of China Daily.