Afghanistan wants to merge Taliban militants into army

Nahla Abdelmonem

The Afghan government works to keep negotiations with the Taliban going in a way that serves its own political and strategic interests.

The Taliban views the same negotiations, meanwhile, as a golden chance to control Afghanistan altogether, given the vast territories it controls in the country.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on October 7 that he would work to convince the extremist movement to cooperate with the Afghan army in the fight against the branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

He said this would be an important step for bringing about the required peace in the country.

Ghani said he wants the current round of negotiations with the Taliban to be serious and to reflect the aspirations of the people of Afghanistan for a radical solution to their country’s crisis.

The Taliban, he said, should not be afraid of signing a ceasefire with the Afghan government.

It has to stick to peaceful solutions and agree with other Afghan forces, including women, with the aim of creating a better future for Afghanistan.

Ghani called for giving women more space on the Afghan political stage so that they can defend their own rights.

During a visit to Qatari capital, Doha, Ghani met a number of the officials of the Taliban who are involved in negotiations with his government.

Integration

Ghani’s proposal that the Taliban militants merge into his country’s army is a thorny issue for all influential players on the Afghan stage.

The proposal divulges the desire of the Afghan government to get rid of these militants and undermine the military wing of the Taliban.

He uses the eradication of terrorism and the fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda as excuses for doing this.

Almost all Afghanistan’s forces turned down this proposal. The United States also rejected it.