Author: Ashraf Ghani
Affiliation: President of Afghanistan
Organization/Publisher: Foreign Affairs
Date/Place: May 4, 2021/USA
Type of Literature: Article
Word Count: 2090
Keywords: Afghanistan, The Taliban, Peace, The US Withdrawal, Negotiation, Pakistan
Brief:
In this article, the president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, evaluates Biden’s decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban will have a chance to choose their fate, but with the withdrawal of the US and by withdrawing from the peace conference in Istanbul, the Taliban seems to have chosen its fate of being in power, according to President Ghani. If the Taliban will not choose settlement with the government, he emphasizes the continuation of the fighting with them. The President wants to find an immediate solution and is willing to negotiate with neutral mediators between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban. While negotiating, the transitional administration may govern Afghanistan, but it should be short-term until the elections will be done. Moreover, he is willing to give up his presidency at the cost of peace in the country. For the President, transitional leadership has an important responsibility on governing and there should not be any instability that would affect the lives and economy. Also, this leadership would need to make constitutional amendments, but without disturbing the Islamic character of the state and the fundamental rights of citizens. However, such calculations about the Taliban may go to waste because they view withdrawal as a triumph and peaceful transition may not be an option for them. In that case, the President says that the security forces are ready to fight with them. The President sees Pakistan’s choice to support the Taliban as a threat to the peace in the country, as well as for the region. Peace and stability should be chosen by the government of Pakistan as it indicated, which will have mutual benefits for the countries and the region. The President concludes the article with his wishes for the achievement of a sovereign Afghan state and peace, for which he would sacrifice everything.
By: Berat Karadeniz, CIGA Research Intern
