Muhammad Khan, Afghan Deputy Chief Executive has said that the statement of Unites States government in which it had termed Taliban as important partners carries no importance.When asked about the recent statements of the United States defense department he told that, “We should not believe in such statements. Just a few days ago the US government had announced extension of stay of its forces in Afghanistan.” The United States viewed Taliban as the important partners in a peaceful Afghan led reconciliations process spokesman of Pentagon had stated.On Saturday, Engineer Muhammad Khan was in Peshawar to offer the condolences on the death of the veteran politician Afzal Khan Lala along with a 45 member official delegation of the Afghan government. The Afghan government is rightly irritated. If Taliban are important partners in Afghan peace process, then why did the US have to fight a 10 years of war to eliminate them? Taliban were already ruling Afghanistan when the US invaded after 9/11. Taliban should have been allowed to rule then – unless there is change in belief on the part of the US that the Taliban have reformed into democracy-loving protectors of individual rights. Did the US not just bomb a hospital in Kunduz to kill Taliban fighters?
But everything that the US says needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. The US is not conducting ‘counter-terrorism’ operations against the Taliban, because it is focusing on the Al Qaeda and IS. The Taliban are not friends at all, but a pawn in the beginning of a US withdrawal from the region. The mess in the Middle East will keep the US occupied for decades. It would rather slip out of Afghanistan, whatever way it can.
Additionally, as much trouble as the Taliban have been, if they have popular support, they can reformulate their image as a legitimate political entity and can thus challenge the power of the official government. But the problem is that these are not political battles, they are physical ones over territorial control. Any entity, no matter how big or popular, should not be allowed to challenge or attack the state- and in that the official government is right in its indignation. From attacks on Parliament, to battles for control over cities, the Taliban’s methods are wrong. The present Afghan government is made up of the elements that were defeated by the Taliban to stabilise country after the collapse of the USSR.
pk.shafaqna.com
