Mullah Omar has confirmed that the Taliban have engaged in peace talks with the US. Apparently, this time around one should not expect the Taliban representatives to be impostors fooling the eager Americans. The opening of a Taliban headquarter in Qatar with aims to engage in dialogue the West is also being welcomed.
Mullah Omar, the Taliban commander considered as the key to the insurgency, a spiritual symbol had been the one to order jihad against the infidels. It had been predicted by various Taliban officials that he was the one uniting force and without him religious rationale for the fight would largely vanish with the movement splitting into groups fighting along tribal, regional, and ethnic lines and the insurgency could shatter into a chaotic mess of warring factions. But does he still have that kind of control over the insurgency? Why the need for a peace deal if that is still the case?
The statement issued by the top militant factions under the command of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar as they pledged an end to attacks on the Pakistani government’s forces and are instead going to unite in fighting against Nato’s troops in Afghanistan, comes in quite a contradiction to what the TTP spokesman has said, warning of an increase in attack s on the Pakistani security forces in the coming days.
Ground realities also point to the fact that there is no change in the security situation as scores of Pakistanis are still dying in militant attacks.
In this backdrop, it becomes difficult to accept the varied statements emanating from different Taliban quarters. Which Taliban faction is responsible for the opening an office in Qatar, does it truly represent the Afghan Taliban and how much influence does it have on the ongoing insurgency?
The announcement of dropping the pre-condition of withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan by the Taliban holding political office in Qatar does not align with what Mullah Omar has demanded as pre-conditions to talk with the US; release of Afghan prisoners from Guantanamo Bay detention facility and a complete pull out of US-led forces from Afghanistan.
The peace process too might take a lot longer to actually begin where the on ground situation can also improve. To convince the Taliban foot soldiers to stop what they have been doing for over a decade will certainly be tedious job for the Taliban commander. But for the time being, however, all focus ought to be directed towards dialogue and a political solution of the insurgency.
Had the Americans had the foresight to see that the ultimate solution to the Afghan imbroglio was a negotiated settlement with the Taliban, then this step ought to have been the first rather than the last one.
LUBNA HAMEED
Rawalpindi