April 02, 2021

Why isn’t Taliban ceasing hostilities in Afghanistan?

topic:	Peace and Reconciliation
located:	Afghanistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

Literally, not a single day goes by when you don’t see innocent Afghan civilians losing their lives, loved ones and property to the ugly war, which shows no ending signs in the foreseeable future.

It is even more troubling to see that the leaders of warring factions are more engaged in lobbying on the international level than in sincere and committed efforts to cease hostilities. From their political office in Qatar’s capital, Doha, the Taliban leadership has been shuttling between capitals of the region to lobby on their behalf for months, but have been ruthlessly rejecting calls from various quarters to enact a ceasefire; why? 

Is it in any way fair to accept and tolerate it as a leverage for the ongoing negotiations? Absolutely not, because the other party to the conflict, the Afghan government, has repeatedly expressed profound readiness to cease fire on its part.

The result of this has been devastating. Just a few days ago, a female police officer was shot dead in eastern Afghanistan - days after three female members of the polio vaccination team were killed in the same locality. The following day, 12 civilians were killed and wounded when roadside landmines hit them in the Helmand and Herat provinces.

In a report from 1 April, Human Rights Watch states that Taliban forces are deliberately targeting journalists and other media workers, including women, in Afghanistan.

Threats and attacks against journalists across the country have increased sharply since talks began between the Afghan government and the Taliban, heightening concerns about preserving freedom of expression and the media in any peace settlement, according to the report.

Human Rights Watch interviewed 46 members of the Afghan media between November 2020 and March 2021, seeking information on the conditions under which they work and the threats of physical harm they receive. 

It is true that the Afghan conflict has its roots stretched beyond the land-locked country’s borders, but peace from within could only come through local initiatives aimed at ceasing hostilities.

Afghanistan has been witnessing an escalation in violence since the launch of the troubled intra-Afghan talks back in September. 

Without losing sight of the ultimate goal of peace by getting confused with the factors, history and dynamics of the raging Afghan conflict, the war-weary population of Afghanistan has a set of just questions and demands to raise: why can’t there be a ceasefire during the ongoing peace negotiations? Why should they continue to be held hostage to hostilities and traded as bargaining chips on the negotiation table while warring factions are engaging in a bloody quest for power?

Image: UNAMA News. 

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