An eye on the Throne

The Afghan Taliban led by Mullah Omar could share power with rival groups in the future Afghan government, but not without any share of less than 50 percent in any agreed political dispensation for the war-torn country.
Taliban representatives, who attended the recent Paris Conference on Afghanistan, dropped clear hints about their leadership’s willingness to join the future Afghan government in Kabul along with rival Afghan factions the upon fulfillment of certain conditions. Apart from Afghan government functionaries, some important Taliban officials like Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar also were also present in the Paris Conference. Moreover, another important Taliban opposition party, Hizb-e-Islami, which is led by the former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, was also represented by its senior leaders. It was during the Paris talks, held under the aegis of a French think tank, “Foundation for Strategic Research”, that the Afghan Taliban reportedly called for a new constitution as a pre-condition for its readiness to join the Afghanistan peace and reconciliation process. Maulvi Shahabuddin Dilawar, the Taliban’s top negotiator, told the Paris conference that Taliban supreme commander Mullah Omar respected his political opponents, according to media reports. A diplomatic source privy to the talks said it was at the conference in Paris that the Taliban representatives showed their inclination towards become part of a future government in Kabul, provided some of their key demands were met and conflicting issues were resolved and settled. “The Taliban could share the power with their opponents in Kabul provided they were given at least 50 percent share,” he said. Moreover, the source said the Taliban would also like the formal control of Afghan provinces where their writ was strong.
However, the source said there were some other Taliban demands like drafting of new constitution for Afghanistan, release of all Taliban prisoners, removal of the names of Taliban leaders from the UN terrorists’ list and withdrawal of US-led foreign troops from Afghanistan. He said the Paris talks ended on a positive note and the approach of the Taliban as well as the way they participated in the conference was helpful and constructive. “Afghan authorities, with the help of Pakistani government, would now like to bring the Taliban leadership to formal peace talks in the near future, as the talks held in Paris were no formal negotiations on peace and stability in the war-torn country but merely an exchange of views by the warring factions in a candid manner,” he said. A Pakistani diplomat said on condition of anonymity that Pakistan supported the dialogue between various Afghan groups as it wanted peace and stability in the neighbouring state. However, he said Islamabad was for peace talks that were Afghan-led and Afghan-owned, per Islamabad’s stated stance.