From Abid Usman
LAHORE: Feature Commandments of Almighty Allah, regarding war and peace have been concisely described in the holy Quran, the supreme authority in Islam and a primary source of Islamic law that “Once the hostility of the enemy ceases, the Muslims must stop fighting (Quran 2:193; 8:39).
Similarly, the Holy Quran further commands” if they incline to peace, do so and put your trust in God, even if they intend to deceive you, remember that God is sufficient for you. (Quran 8:61-2).
Former American President George W. Bush, in September 11, 2001, while responding to attacks on the World Trade Centre, which killed around 3,000 people, had ordered an invasion of Afghanistan.
The War in Afghanistan started since the invasion of US troops to Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, when the United States of America and its allies successfully ousted the Taliban regime, in order to finish Al-Qaeda’s operations and its existence.
After the removal of the Taliban government and their system, the US formed a coalition of over 40 countries. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members formed a security mission in the country called International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Later, accomplishing various anti militant operations, NATO forces in January 2015, launched the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) to equip, train, assist and advise Afghan security forces, agencies and institutions.
According to ISAF statistics document, currently, the numbers of its forces is around 17,000 troops from 39 NATO Allies and its partner countries.
In the longer term, to maintain peace in the region, a traditional partnership with Afghanistan remains NATO’s goal, it says. During the long run war operation in Afghanistan, NATO forces and Taliban militant groups captured many persons as their prisoners.
Now, both sides are on the same page to establish a political set-up for broader peace in Afghanistan including exchange of their prisoners through holding meaningful talks.Under the US-Taliban deal which was inked in February 2020, the Afghan government was to release around 5000 Taliban prisoners while 1000 government coalition troops were to be released by Taliban. These talks were scheduled for March 2020 earlier, but due to differences over prisoners’ exchange, were delayed.
At the behest of the Prime Minister Imran Khan, both factions have come out in support of the Intra-Afghan Dialogue, continuing at Qatar’s capital Doha since last Saturday. This landmark dialogue speaks volumes about the PM Imran Khan’s tireless efforts to reach some conclusion. Prime Minister Imran Khan on September 11 has welcomed the start of much-awaited intra-Afghan talks aimed at ending the two-decades war in Afghanistan.
The US State Department in January 2020 in a statement had praised Prime Minister Imran Khan saying that he was one of the renowned world leaders who had engaged in an “off-ramp” diplomacy to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States.
