KABUL: The frequent delay of the intra-Afghan peace negotiations has undermined confidence building in the country’s peace process and triggered concern over the process, Afghan experts said.
“The ambiguity and uncertainty has surrounded the peace process. The Taliban conditioned release of prisoners for starting peace talks. They must show willingness for negotiations as their inmates have been freed,” Mir Ahmad, a veteran journalist, said.
“The Afghans are perplexed by the frequent delay of intra-Afghan peace talks. People are wondering that thousands of Taliban inmates have been released but negotiations have not kicked off as expected,” said Ahmad, who served in government-run newspaper Kabul Times.
The exchange of about 5,200 Taliban prisoners with 1,000 Afghan government troops is part of a U.S.-Taliban peace deal inked late in February in Doha to facilitate the intra-Afghan peace talks. The deal is also hoped to pave the way for the pullout of thousands of the U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan.
However, the government still holds 400 of the 5,200 Taliban prisoners who were involved in major crimes such as truck bombings, kidnappings and killings and described by the government as dangerous persons. The government has convened a traditional Loya Jirga or Grand Assembly with the participation of 3,400 delegates across the country to make a decision on the matter.
Taliban said the release of the 400 is a precondition for kick-starting the peace talks.
The Jirga held earlier this month approved the release of the 400 Taliban prisoners. Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has signed a decree, ordering the release of the inmates but the authorities only released 80 of them and stopped the process for unknown reasons.
“Taliban persists on change of government system to Islamic Emirate (name of Taliban’s ousted regime), a system against the government demand of republicanism. The demand is not accepted by Afghans and the international community,” Ahmad said.
“If the government did not want to release the remaining 400 prisoners, even including those sentenced to death and committed serious crimes or killed foreign citizens, then it wouldn’t hold Loya Jirga or Grand Assembly of elders and chieftains.”
Under the U.S.-Taliban agreement, U.S. and NATO-led coalition forces would leave Afghanistan by July next year depending on whether the Taliban outfit meets the conditions set out in the agreement, including severing ties with foreign terrorist groups.
However, the Taliban militants have been trying to consolidate their positions, capture control of districts or provinces and launch massive attacks after the agreement was signed.
“To build confidence for peace talks, the Taliban militants should reduce violence and show willingness to accept a long-term ceasefire before the start of the intra-Afghan negotiations. But the military group persists on their position that they don’t recognize the government and would continue war unless the last batch of their inmates are released,” Ahmad noted.
In addition, Taliban’s plan of the army nullification, or conduct big reforms within the army, and refusal to negotiations with government representatives have also blocked the start of the peace talks, the retired media man said.–Agencies
