Afghanistan Times
Related Articles
Expressing satisfaction over the US brokered peace process in Afghanistan, a number of Afghan politicians believe progress is there between the United States and the Taliban, and hopefully it is one that will ensure lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. they time and gain made it clear that the peace process “must be fully Afghan-owned and Afghan-led,” which would yield positive, fruitful and durable results. As peace talks between the Taliban and the United States have entered the 7th round, Afghan elites have stressed that transparency in negotiations will immensely help the process evolve. The U.S. special envoy for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad concluded the latest round of talks with the Taliban negotiators a few days ago in Qatar. He was cited by reports as saying that the Afghans are closer to reaching peace than any time in the past. Peace process is aimed at return of everlasting peace and end to violence whereas the two sides are discussing ways and means to guarantee halt to terrorism and a phased pulling US troops out of Afghanistan. Lauding efforts made to push for national reconciliation and bring about peace in Afghanistan, such as the two-day intra-Afghan dialogue opened on Sunday in Qatar’s capital Doha with the presence of a 17-member negotiating team from the Taliban, which showed there is already some format of negotiations going on (between the Taliban and the government). Of course, what’s needed is eventually, and hopefully as soon as possible, talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban to start which only the way to move forward. As the United States prepares to exit Afghanistan, we seek a solution in a manner that will allow the Taliban to be part of the Afghan political system. So it will be a settlement rather than a takeover. It should be the Taliban re-entry the Afghan politics with all the Afghans, and that is what we should be making sure. Recently the eighth World Peace Forum, held on July 8-9 in Beijing and organized by Tsinghua University in partnership with the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs, is a non-governmental seminar focusing on international security topics. Former President Hamid Karzai attend the format, stressing for Afghan-owned peace process. Like of US, Russian Federation and other stakeholders, China Republic is also showing much more interests in early resolution of conflict in Afghanistan. For the purpose, Chinese high ups are in close contacts with several stakeholders including US. Soon after concluding the 7th round of his talks with Taliban in Doha, Khalilzad had made a trip to Beijing whereas he held talks with the Chinese authorities. The participants the 8th World Peace Forum also exchanged views on stock of proposals to help in settlement to Afghan conflict. Chinese authority’s role in implementation of Doha Afghan Conference declaration and helping Dr. Khalilzad lead peace process deserves appreciation.
