Author(s): Nilofar Sakhi
Affiliation: Aljazeera Center for Studies, Doha, Qatar
Organization/Publisher: Aljazeera Center for Studies, Doha, Qatar
Date/Place: May 8, 2019, Qatar
Type: Report
Number of Pages: 12 pages
Brief:
The author in her article discusses the current difficulties faced by the Afghan Intelligentsia to establish a consensus on the future political course of action. The stakeholders include political elites, civil society, academia, business community and Taliban. Taliban in 2013 received a de-facto recognition by the international community when they had been allowed to open their office in Doha, Qatar. The author divided the current peace process in two phases, the National Process and the Regional Consensus. According to her, the national process includes all the masses specifically the youth bulge of Afghanistan that was born in the Post 9/11 era. Moreover, the input from opposition and Northern Alliance that has ruled Afghanistan during the Pre-Soviet invasion era is also essential including the feedback of Taliban who ruled Afghanistan in late 1990s. Furthermore, she describes the role of the regional powers including China, Iran, Pakistan and India in facilitating the peace process. She tried to explain the foreign policy shift in Kabul after the US invasion when Afghanistan and India established close ties over their mutual hostility toward Pakistan. The international community particularly the United States perceives Pakistan as an influence on Taliban, therefore any deadlock with the insurgent group is believed to be instigated by Islamabad. The author concludes that the current peace process is only possible by the sincere involvement of all the political parties and civil society of Afghanistan including Taliban, and those regional actors have to play the crucial role of facilitators rather than spoilers.
