U.S.-Taliban Agreement has no peace element, says Haqqani
U.S.-Taliban Agreement has no peace element, says Haqqani
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The agreement between the US and the Taliban has no element of peace and is essentially a withdrawal pact for American troops from the war-torn Afghanistan, a former Pakistani diplomat said.

As a long-time critic of the agreement between the US and the Taliban, I see it as a withdrawal agreement without any elements of peace. Husain Haqqani, former Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, said on Friday during a virtual event, “The Afghan Peace Process: Progress or Peril?” The Taliban were forced to commit to only one thing: that they would enter into intra-Afghan talks, not that they would agree to peace. organised by the think-tank of the Hudson Institute.

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In February last year, in Doha, the Trump administration signed a peace deal with the Taliban. The agreement established plans to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the rebel group. The US committed itself to withdrawing its 12,000 troops within 14 months as part of the deal. Only 2,500 American troops are left in the country at present.

Haqqani said that the definition of peace for the Taliban was very different from the US.

“Taliban’s definition of peace is very different from that of the US or the Afghan Government. Taliban believe that once their Islamic Emirate is restored, peace will be restored,” said Haqqani, currently Director of South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute.

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He noted that the Afghan government and the nation’s people would welcome the predictability and discipline that could come with a change of administration in the US.

“The only acceptable outcome is Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate. All these years, they have not fought to take a stupid ministerial position. In the meantime, what the Taliban has been doing is hollowing out the civil society of Afghanistan. All the signs that these talks are being used by the Taliban to run the clock out. “They will not agree to give up violence,” he said.

Before 9/11, the Taliban pledged that they would not host Al Qaeda, and they lied. Why should we trust them today? “asked Roggio.

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Afghanistan’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Atlantic Council, Javid Ahmad, noted that it was complicated at the end of the day for Afghanistan.

“In purpose, policy, and approach, there is a need for clarity. Not only do we need clarity about the future of Afghanistan, but also about the future of America in Afghanistan. Ahmad said that the previous administration drew a moral equivalence between the Taliban and the Afghan government and so the result was one big mess.

According to Ahmad, Pakistan wants to dictate the talks and in the process bypass the Afghan government.

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“Pakistan’s main audience has been Washington, not Kabul. So difficult to come to terms with them on any bilateral agreement. The terms they are pushing for is a direct say in Afghanistan’s foreign and security policy and so Pakistan has traditionally treated us as a half state,” he said.