Reducing violence in Afghanistan: US courts Taliban, demands seriousness

Sarah Waheed

Despite US efforts to find a solution to reduce the violence in Afghanistan committed by the Taliban and develop a plan to establish peace after 11 rounds of negotiations between the two parties, all of which were unsuccessful, Afghanistan is still prey to much political unrest, insecurity and terrorism.

In a new step, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed on Thursday, February 13 that negotiations had taken place between the United States and the Taliban to discuss a proposal to reduce violence for seven days.

“We always say that the best solution, if not the only one, in Afghanistan is to reach a political agreement,” Esper told reporters at a news conference in Brussels. “Progress has been made on this front and we will have more to announce in this regard soon.”

This move comes after the resumption of negotiations between Washington and the Taliban on December 7, 2019 in the Qatari capital, Doha – three months after US President Donald Trump announced stopping diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan.

Eleven rounds of negotiations

Washington and the Taliban have so far participated in 11 rounds of peace talks, and each round reached a dead end. The last took place on December 15, 2019, when the Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack targeting three Afghan security personnel in Herat province. Media sites affiliated with the movement have also published daily information and pictures about terrorist operations committed in the country.

When the Taliban’s political delegation and elements of the Haqqani extremist movement were sitting at the same negotiating table with the US delegation headed by US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad at the movement’s headquarters in Doha, the Taliban inside Afghanistan carried out an attack in the vicinity of the US Bagram military base on December 11, 2019, which resulted in two civilian deaths without causing any damage to the American facility.

At the time, Khalilzad confirmed on Twitter that he had spoken with the Taliban delegation during the negotiations and expressed his regret for the operation, asking the movement to show its seriousness in achieving peace in the region and a ceasefire in order to achieve the people’s security goals.

On November 28, 2019, President Trump announced the resumption of negotiations with the Taliban during his secret visit to the Bragam base in Afghanistan. Indeed, a round of discussions has begun in Doha on November 7, 2019, but Khalilzad announced on November 13, 2019 the temporary suspension of the first round of the second set of negotiations due to the Taliban delegation’s desire to review some key items with their leaders in Afghanistan.

Reducing violence for seven days is a new card that the US administration is trying to use in order the Taliban to demonstrate its credibility this time in its willingness to reduce violence in Afghanistan, especially after Pakistan’s foreign minister announced in January that the Taliban showed “a willingness” to reduce violence in the country after more than 18 years of fighting the United States. This prompted speculation about the possibility of imminent progress in the negotiations with the United States.

In this context, Dr. Tarek Fahmy, an expert in international relations and a professor of political science at Cairo University, said that the initiative of the United States to propose a reduction of violence between the two parties for a period of seven days is just an attempt to calm the situation and “feel the Taliban’s pulse,” so as to see its willingness to enter into serious negotiations that could lead to a different path in Afghanistan.

Fahmy said in exclusive statements to the Reference that reaching a serious agreement between the two parties requires political and strategic will on both sides and the existence of guarantees that prevent domination in the end.

He added that the US administration is currently heading in a new direction, which is to reduce violence in all conflict areas, including the Middle East, Africa, and Afghanistan.