Knowledge Partner
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist inherited a classified society from the past. Historically, it was the Pashtun sec * on of Afghan society that had been in posi * ons of power and controlled the resources, and would never meaningfully share it with other tribes and women. Given that perspec * ve, the Taliban would never be interested in talking about disputes with other tribes and women.
Socio-Poli @ cal History
Historically, there have been various ethnic conflicts in Afghanistan. King Abdur Rahman executed 62 per cent of the Hazara popula * on( 1880-1901,; the Uzbeks experienced massive suppression( 1841), Shah Hotak fought against the Baloch( 1790), and representa * ves of all tribes fought outrageously against each other during civil war( 1996-2001). At the Bonn Conference in 2001 and through the 2004 cons * tu * on, the interna * onal community supported a highly centralised presiden * al system intended to unite the country ' s diverse ethnic groups. This was not a blameless choice in a mul * cultural country with a background of ethnic clashes. Today, the Afghan government receives cri * cism because of lack of inclusiveness, and some tribes believe that they have no control over power and resources. This has added to the complexity of the
In the Cold War era, the an @-Soviet bloc used to judge Afghanistan’ s poli @ cal sphere from a Pakistani point of view, and this con @ nued in the post-2001 period. situa * on and lack of trust towards the peace process.
War and Elec @ ons
In the Cold War era, the an *-Soviet bloc used to judge Afghanistan’ s poli * cal sphere from a Pakistani point of view, and this con * nued in the post-2001 period. Based on that interpreta * on, it can be surmised that if Afghanistan’ s ruler does not represent the Taliban’ s ethnicity( i. e., the Pashtuns), the bloodshed will resume and the Taliban will definitely do everything in their power to cause the country to collapse. Pakistan’ s double game led to an expansion of this narra * ve. Apparently, if Afghanistan ' s leader is not from the tribes who historically fought against the Taliban, it may open the door for compromise; but in reality, Pakistan could maintain the war by a president that has some compassion with Taliban. The assump * on that Pashtun leadership helps persuade the Taliban towards peace is completely miscalculated. In reality, having President Ghani in the presiden * al palace did not sojen the Taliban’ s violent ac * vi * es and stance. War con * nued, more villages fell to Taliban control, and Afghanistan lost thousands of civilians, soldiers and officials in extremely deadly aQacks. between the Taliban and some Afghan officials. Despite the Taliban carrying out deadly aQacks, former Afghan President Karzai referred to the former as brothers, and some Taliban members were released from prison and returned to Pakistan. President Ghani too, during his elec * on campaign, to sojen Taliban behaviour, highlighted that he will not tolerate the fact that a majority of Taliban prisoners in Bagram prison are from his tribe.
Iden @ ty of the Taliban
While the Taliban is a problem for Afghanistan, they are now divided into 21 different groups, including the Islamic State ' Khorasan Province '( ISKP). Pakistan is pushing this narra * ve to revamp the Taliban’ s brutal image and to prepare them for nego * a * on and taking power in Afghanistan. The ISKP— which is another face of the Taliban, as the Head of Afghanistan ' s Na * onal Directorate of Security, Mohammed Masoom Stanekzai, highlighted in his interview with BBC Persian— has been claiming responsibility for most of the Taliban ' s massive and ruthless aQacks in the recent years. In an event the peace deal with the Taliban materialises, Pakistan will s * ll keep terrorism alive via the remaining 20 different iden ** es, using them as the tool and proxy.
Failure of the Peace Deal with Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan
Ajer six years of nego * a * ons, the peace deal with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan( HIA) materialised. In the beginning, the Afghan people were op * mis * c. But the way the peace deal with the HIA was implemented discouraged people and demoralised the na * onal security forces. In the last ac * on, ajer receiving thousands of
Sympathy Intensifies Conflict
The suspicious involvement and double game played by the US and Pakistan in the Afghan peace process produced a rather poisonous mutual sympathy
Image 6: Members of the Afghan NaLonal Army search a road for improvised explosive devices.
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