(MENAFN- Daily Outlook Afghanistan) Naturally, every socialor political phenomenon has opportunities and challenges but the opportunitiesoften overcome the challenges due to multiple reasons and factors. Unfortunately,this rule is reversely true in Afghanistan, especially in case of peace issues.For example, few years ago the condition of Syria and Iraq was worse thanAfghanistan but now it is not comparable to the increasing crisis inAfghanistan. It seemed that the new peace process would open a new window forpeace in Afghanistan but according to new reports and evidence it is morelikely to face challenge or stalemate. Though the US special envoy toAfghanistan, Zalmai Khalilzad, had expressed optimism during and after theseventh round US-Taliban and also on the sidelines of the third roundintra-Afghan talks in Doha, for reached some agreements with Taliban. Butaccording to Taliban act and expressions, it is as though that no significantagreement has reached between the two parts and also between Afghan politiciansand Taliban as they are persistent to their dogmatic demands and destruction inthe country.
The quadrilateralsummit which recently held among the United States, China, Russia and Pakistanin China has not any substantial outcome that could help the peace process, andit is more likely to have ended without any real agreement. However, they havejointly urged the Taliban to immediately agree to a ceasefire and begin directnegotiations with the Afghan government to end the 18-year violence in thewar-torn country. Thus, they re-affirmed that the negotiations should be'Afghan-led and Afghan-owned and produce a peace framework as soon aspossible. 'But according to some experts these diplomatic words does not conveyany practical value. On the other hand, it is inferred from the latest twittedmessage of the US special envoy that the Bijing Meeting, like other peacetalks, has not a practical result. All these interactions show that the UnitedStates Special Representative is facing significant challenges that each ofthem alone can bring Khalilzad's efforts to complete failure.
The first challengeis the nature of Taliban and the goals that the leaders of this group arepursuing. Naturally they are an extremist group who never showed anyimprovement in their mentality and ideology. This group still organizes thelargest terrorist and suicide attacks victimizing the civilians andnon-civilians in the country. In recent months, in spite of running peaceprocess in Qatar, the Taliban have persistently continued violence and war inAfghanistan. In the first days of current year, the group declared the al-Fatihoperation against the Afghan government, and at the same time they intensifiedthe war against the Afghan security forces and organized the worst suicide andterrorist attacks in cities and hometown centers.
The extremist natureof the Taliban caused them not to desist from the Islamic Emirate in allnegotiations despite strong opposition by Afghan people. This illegitimate andinhumane demand may not matter to the other stakeholders, but it is a completedisaster for the people and government of Afghanistan. In all these years, thepeople of Afghanistan have fought and sacrificed to have a human life.Otherwise, there was no need to fight and tolerate all these 18 years of humanand non-human expenses. Based on this, the question arises how the US-envoy ishopeful and how he is sure for the positive outcome of ongoing the peaceprocess.
The second importantchallenge lies in the multidimensional angles and factors of conflict inAfghanistan. We all know that there are dozens of important factors for thecontinuation of the crisis and conflict in Afghanistan; none of which have yetcome to an end and they are still interested in the continuation of theconflict. Though this fact is bitter for the people of Afghanistan, now it isundeniable and publically raised as overt fact that no way to escape from.Peace is the other side of war; as much as war has hidden and unhidden factorsand dimensions, peace also has the same features but there is no one who hasever thought about it or shared withpeople of Afghanistan.
Another importantfactor which challenges peace process and, ultimately will challenge the USspecial representatives is his personal preferences. As he was born inAfghanistan, he is an Afghani more than being an American, especially when heblamed for having personal preferences and hatreds to certain groups. That iswhy he tries to hide the entire process from the eyes of the media and thepeople; this secrecy caused that all cases, including peace process areconsidered as intelligence nature.
In such a situation,nothing is clear to the people of Afghanistan, and no Afghan citizen knows whatis going on behind the closed doors? What are they negotiating about while thepeople of Afghanistan do not know anything about it? This way, no trust will shape between peopleof Afghanistan and the US special representatives. This kind of secrecy willdamage and distrust the whole process.
The last but notleast challenge is the Trump election campaign in the US; he has vigorouslyadvocated the US disengagement from endless wars but it is the best time to getthe credit for the upcoming electoral competitions. Indeed, if Trump canwithdraw the US troop from Afghanistan before the presidential election nextyear, it could raise his standing and brighten his chances of re-electionbarring some adverse domestic developments. In any way, Tramp wants to make adifference or achievement in Afghanistan, but a sustainable peace may not bepossible in a hurry. According to a famous proverb, he wants to milk from abull; this issue alone has put the special representatives in a difficultbottleneck.
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