Afghans Wary of Peace Bid

June 09, 2010

By Sanjay Kumar

Mir says he believes Karzai has been acting independently of the parliament over the holding of the jirga because he believed he wouldn’t have its support after it rejected some of his ministerial nominees. ‘Karzai thinks the tribal council will give him its full backing.’

But Mir believes Karzai will anyway have trouble luring the Taliban over. ‘There’s an ongoing military offensive in the southern part of Afghanistan. Then you have the US military surge. The military offensive will go on till next summer and in this kind of situation it’s difficult for President Karzai to present peace plans to the Taliban.’

Wahid Mujda, a political analyst who worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Taliban, agrees that it’s difficult at this stage for Karzai to be offering anything to the Taliban.

‘Karzai knows Mullah Omar personally,’ Mujda says. ‘He knows what Mullah Omar wants and he knows the Taliban leadership will never negotiate as long as foreign troops are in Afghanistan…They don’t fight for money and land. In my opinion, Karzai has no practical basis for talks—he’s just doing this for his own political goals.’

The sentiment is echoed by Malwai Anwar, a Taliban Commander in Kunar Province in southern Afghanistan who says he doesn’t believe dialogue is possible as long as US forces remain in Afghanistan. ‘This is our country, and once American and other foreign forces leave, we and our fellow countrymen will sit together and discuss the matter amongst ourselves.’

About $160 million was pledged by the international community for the Afghanistan Peace and Reconciliation Programme, which has been planned for months. But the plight of Wazma Bahar, a student and theatre performer, underscores the difficulties in striking the balance on how far to go in trying to integrate the militants.

Bahar’s father was murdered in 1999 for standing up to the Taliban, forcing her mother to abandon her career and flee to Iran with the family for their safety.

‘The whole Taliban leadership should be brought to justice for inflicting such physical and psychological pain on the people of Afghanistan,’ Bahar says angrily. ‘They destroyed everything that was good in the country.’

For the many Afghans like Bahar, the issue is personal, and the desire for justice continues to trump what is still an unclear path to peace.