Not an analyst, not a pundit, not even some disgruntled outgoing military officer or diplomat. A figure no less than the Afghan President Hamid Karzai has confirmed that the Americans and the Taliban are talking to each other. Though the Taliban spokesperson denied it and the US neither confirmed nor denied, the claim does makes sense. The US is set to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in 2014. And, in an Orwellian manner (we were never at war with Oceania, we were always at war with Oceania), the UN has split the international sanctions regime for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
There are some hitches. The Taliban drive a tough bargain; they make few demands and stick to them. And they are not easy to meet. They have reportedly asked for half the share in a possible future government. Inside sources suggest that Washington was considering their chunk to be about 30 percent. Hence, a deadlock. Granted, these are very initial stages but it is unlikely that the Taliban would budge from this position. If anything, it is the Taliban who would have swallowed their pride to quote the fifty per cent. With the Taliban, at least in southern Afghanistan, comes, at the very least, the semblance of Pashthun representation in the Afghan government and finally a measure of stability to a country that has seen nothing but war for decades. And, given the international guarantors and other government partners, a significantly lesser amount of the Taliban’s medievalist policies.
Lest this development stimulate the legion of the ostriches that have run amok in Pakistan, on the airwaves and in the press, about seeking a similar arrangement with the Taliban here, there are some points that have to be shared. An apples and oranges comparison like no other; the Afghan Taliban were not preceded by any democratic setup. On this side of the Durand, however, there is universal franchise and anyone can set up a political party and go to the people come polling time. Secondly, negotiations of the sort almost invariably entail a laying down of arms. Done that, didn’t work out.
