This blog should be read in continuation of earlier blogs on Afghan Peace Talks listed below:
i Afghanistan – US Pull Out – No Good Options dt 2/5/2019
ii Afghan Deal all but done dt 5/9/2019
iii Afghan Peace Talks – Expectations, its key players and Prospects for
India dt 13/9/2020;
Background
Nine rounds of talks have been held in Doha between USA represented by Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban to decide on the format and conduct of peace talks between Afghanistan Government and the Taliban, as the US commenced its pull out of troops. The last round was held August 2019.
There are two main points on agenda for discussion.
- The first is a permanent and comprehensive cease fire. The participants of intra-Afghan negotiations will discuss the date and modalities of a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, including joint implementation mechanisms.
- The second is an agreement over the future political roadmap of Afghanistan. The immediate question is which should come first. The Afghan government has said it wants a ceasefire first.
New Delhi has not been involved in the process since the beginning and while it has backed the Afghan government for an “Afghan owned and Afghan led peace process”, it has been marginal to even regional discussions.
India is finally at the table with five other countries to decide on the roadmap for peace in Afghanistan after six months of hectic behind-the-scenes diplomacy.
This mechanism has been suggested by Washington even as Moscow is learnt to have suggested a plan that kept New Delhi out and had suggested that Russia, China, US, Pakistan and Iran should be at the table.
New Delhi, carried out deft diplomacy and reached out to all key players in Afghanistan and other countries to make its way to the negotiating table. By being part of the team, New Delhi hopes to have a role in setting the terms — especially concerning terrorism, violence, women’s rights and democratic values.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has proposed a regional conference under the UN auspices with foreign ministers of US, India, Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran to discuss a “unified approach” on Afghanistan.
New Delhi’s diplomatic spadework, included
- Talks during the visits to India by former Afghan vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum in September 2020.
- Discussions with former Afghanistan Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah (now chair of High Peace Council) and Afghan leader Ata Mohammad Noor in October.
- Visit to Afghanistan by NSA Ajit Doval in January 2021, when he met Kabul’s political leadership.
- New Delhi’s engagement with Iran and its strategic investment in developing the Chabahar port as an access to Afghanistan.
The Biden administration’s proposal is also an acknowledgment of India’s pro-active role in the Afghan reconstruction process. The current outreach to Islamabad over the ceasefire along the LoC will also be a factor at the table.
Talks are proposed between Afghan elders and the Taliban in Turkey in the coming weeks to hammer out a revised proposal for a 90-day reduction in violence and to give proposals to help accelerate discussions.