NYT editorial says Ghani ‘big reason’ for talks’ progress, wise to enlist Pak help but delegation lacked women and members of community groups
The New York Times (NYT) believes that the recent meeting held in Pakistan between the Afghan government representatives and Taliban was a “significant step” but “there is a long, hard road ahead”.
“While the two days of meetings produced no substantive breakthrough, officials said the two sides discussed the possibility of a temporary cease-fire during the three-day of Eid al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan later this month,” the newspaper said in its lead editorial on Saturday.
“That, at least, would be an indicator that both sides are serious and ready to move to a more substantive level,” it added, while emphasising that the talks were “positive”. “Even if the atmosphere was upbeat, there is a long, hard road ahead,” it said.
The NYT said, “The most important thing about the two-day meeting is that the delegations agreed to convene again in several weeks to discuss the possibility of formal peace talks. Whether that meeting takes place, will be the next test and will require continued assistance and prodding from Pakistan, China and, especially, the United States.”
“Though the Afghan army and the Taliban continue to fight on the battlefield, it is becoming clear even to the warring sides that political reconciliation is the only possible solution to the conflict,” the Times added.
Noting that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was a “big reason” the process has gotten this far, the editorial said the delegation he sent to the talks was flawed. “While it included representatives of the major political players in his country’s factionalised power-sharing government, it lacked women and members of community groups.”
“To win broad support, any peace agreement will require the participation of all these groups. Mr Ghani will need to include them and do a better job of getting his fractured government, which still has not appointed a defense minister, to be more decisive.”
To get peace talks going, it said, President Ghani was wise to enlist the help of Pakistan. “One problem in getting talks started has been divisions among Taliban factions and obtaining assurances that Taliban negotiators are authorized to speak for their leaders,” the editorial said.