Khalilzad says Afghan government, Taliban key contributors to violence

MONITORING (SW) – The top US peace negotiator for Afghanistan has said both the Afghan government and the Taliban remain the key contributors to violence in the country.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, said this on Thursday while addressing an online event hosted by the US Institute of Peace. “It’s important to be fully aware of the significance of this moment, and to recognize its historic relevance.”

He said for the Afghan people are yearning for peace and they are expressing it in many ways. The intra-Afghan negotiations represent a major milestone in the country’s four decades of conflict: the first time the parties have engaged in direct, official peace talks.

“This key step puts agency with the Afghans, which is the only way for [the peace process] to succeed,” Khalilzad said in an online event hosted by USIP. But, after two weeks, the two sides are still debating the basic rules and procedures for the talks. More difficult negotiations on substantive issues—like the very nature of a future political system, women’s rights, and how or if to integrate Taliban fighters into state security forces—remain to be tackled, said a statement by the USIP.

“Based on the assumption that there is no viable path to military victory,” Khalilzad said the U.S. sought to engage both the Taliban and the Afghan government in parallel. It took a year and a half of talks for the U.S.-Taliban deal to be inked in late February of this year. The agreement and the direct Afghan talks “have opened the door to the two sides sitting together to correct history,” said Khalilzad, referring to the failure by Afghan parties to seize the opportunity to build peace after the Soviet Union’s withdrawal in the late 1980s. That missed chance for peace “weighs on [Afghan] leaders today,” he said.

Khalilzad said that the Taliban had adhered to its commitments made in the U.S.-Taliban deal, including not killing any U.S. forces this year and not attacking major cities. Another component of the deal called on the Taliban to sever ties with groups like al-Qaida. “With regard to terrorism and al-Qaida, what I can say is the Talibs have taken some steps, based on the commitment they have made, positive steps, but they have some distance still to go,” he said during congressional testimony on Tuesday.

Nonetheless, violence in Afghanistan has risen to unacceptable levels, he told the House of Representatives Oversight Committee. At least 57 Afghan security forces were killed in clashes with Taliban fighters across Afghanistan on Sunday night—the most violent day since talks began. Khalilzad said this “decreases confidence in the peace process,” adding the Taliban would “pay the price” with the Afghan people if they don’t reduce violence levels.

We know that a reduction in violence is possible,” said Khalilzad, alluding to the two Eid cease-fires that held this year. At the same time, he acknowledged that the Taliban see violence as a key leverage point in the negotiations and are thus unlikely to agree to a comprehensive cease-fire early in the process.

Khalilzad spoke at length of the United States’ commitment to protecting the gains Afghan women have made and the centrality of their rights for a peaceful Afghanistan: “We will work with our international partners to continue to press on the rights of women, and of religious and ethnic minorities. … While the ultimate political settlement is one for the Afghans themselves to decide, the United States and the international community are deeply committed to human rights and women’s rights. The Afghans must negotiate a solution that suits their history and their culture. But we have made it clear we expect the women of Afghanistan to have their voices heard … The international community expects the same.”

ENDS

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