Violence plagues Afghanistan as Taliban talks struggle to take off

The bloodshed complicates the first-ever direct negotiations taking place between the two parties in Qatar.

Youths play cricket on the Nader Khan hilltop in Kabul this week. Picture: AFP

Deadly violence in Afghanistan has marred the first direct talks between Kabul and the Taliban, underscoring the high stakes that face the warring sides as they struggle to get negotiations off the ground to end nearly two decades of fighting.

Representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban kicked off the first round of US-brokered talks in Qatar’s capital nearly two weeks ago. As the two teams wrangle over the agenda and framework for talks likely to drag on for months, both factions have accused the other of ramping up attacks against their ­people in recent days.

The government has called for an immediate ceasefire as a first priority of the talks. The Taliban, whose greatest leverage is the ability to inflict violence, has so far refused.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani repeated that call on Wednesday in a speech to the UN General Assembly, saying the UN had a crucial role to play in helping the Kabul government uphold their shared values at the Doha peace talks with the Islamist group.“At those talks, the Afghan people have a clear and urgent priority: a cease-fire,” Mr Ghani said. “An urgent end to the violence will more than anything else give us a chance to progress.”

Children carrying a sack with garbage walk past a mural along a roadside in Kabul on Tuesday. Picture: AFP

On Wednesday, Afghan officials said overnight that Taliban attacks on security checkpoints in southern Afghanistan killed at least 28 policemen. The insurgents have killed dozens of security personnel and nearly 100 civilians in several attacks over the past two weeks, officials say.

Government forces, meanwhile, continue to target the Taliban. Airstrikes on the group accidentally killed as many as 24 civilians in the northern province of Kunduz on Saturday. The Afghan Ministry of Defence said it was investigating claims of civilian deaths.

The attacks highlight how neither party is willing to cede ground without concessionsfrom the other side.

Initial friction isn’t unusual in thorny peace processes. Peace talks in Syria have been stranded for years. The Yemeni peace process hasn’t moved beyond the initial stage. The Colombian government and FARC rebels took nearly four years to strike peace. Nevertheless, the violence at home adds pressure on both the negotiating teams in Doha to find common ground — initially on two divisive issues.

The Taliban wants its deal with the US in February to form the basis of its talks with the government. That means if the US reneges on its pledges, the insurgents aren’t committed to continuing talks with Kabul. The Afghan government, which wasn’t part of that deal, wants the insurgents to adhere to an ­Afghan-US declaration that makes a commitment to negotiation and permanent ceasefire a prerequisite for a peace deal.

The US-Taliban deal involves a phased withdrawal over 14 months of all American soldiers from Afghanistan as part of Don­ald Trump’s efforts to reduce America’s military footprint in the region ahead of the November 3 elections.

In exchange, the Taliban pledged to prevent al-Qa’ida and other terrorist organisations from operating in Afghanistan and to engage in negotiations with the government.

The Taliban also insists the Sunni Hanafi school of thought should form the legal basis for the negotiations. The government worries that without a reference to non-discrimination of its Shia minority and other religions, this will exclude parts of the population that enjoy protection in the Afghan constitution.

The Taliban has revealed ­little about its end goal, beyond a withdrawal of foreign forces and that Afghanistan must be ruled by Islamic law, despite the fact Afghanistan’s constitution already dictates that no law can contravene Islam.

“At the moment, unfortu­nately, the level of violence is very high. The number of security incidents initiated by the Taliban in different parts of the country has increased, not decreased,” Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the government negotiating team, said on Tuesday in a virtual meeting organised by the US Council on Foreign Relations.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the government was responsible for the uptick in violence by continuing operations to build new check posts.

The violence is a reminder of the scars, emotional and physical, the two delegations carry with them into the talks.

Fawzia Koofi, one of three women in the government delegation, arrived in Doha with her arm in a cast after surviving an attempt on her life.

“It’s hard emotionally, but we have to find a way,” said Nader Nadery, a senior member of the government negotiation team whose nephew was killed in a Taliban attack days before the peace talks in Doha began.

The Afghan war began with the US-led invasion in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that al-Qa’ida orchestrated from the country, then ruled by the Taliban. It has claimed tens of thousands of Afghan lives and destroyed hospitals, schools and other infrastructure.

In his speech at the UN, Mr Ghani, the Afghan president, said even a deal with the insurgents wouldn’t be enough to bring lasting peace to Afghanistan.

“For sustainable peace in Afghanistan, we must get to the root of the terrorism problem blighting our region, and address it as the global phenomenon and threat that it is.”

The Wall Street Journal