The Taliban aggressive attacks

The Taliban intensive attacks against the Afghan Security forces and civilians have almost brought the Intra-Afghan dialogue to a standstill. The Taliban’s recent attack on Helmand provincial capital city in which dozens of Afghan security forces and civilians have been killed, and displaced, indicates the Taliban motive after the U.S withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Taliban have flamed the battlefields in 20 provinces which further reveals that they do not have any intention of making a peace pact. The Taliban’s attack on Lashkargah city is a tactic to capture the provincial capital is to further pressurize the international community, and the Afghan government to accept their rigid terms. the Taliban’s insistence on making the articles of the U.S, and the Taliban agreement as to the base for intra-Afghan negotiation, and Hanafi Jurisprudence as the source for negotiation have undermined the peace process. The Taliban have to understand the reality of modern Afghanistan, come up with demands that resonate with democratic norms for which the Afghan and the international community in particular the United States have invested blood and capital. Dr. Abdullah chairman of the High Peace Council for National Reconciliation, visit to Pakistan, and subsequently to India paves the way for more regional consensus toward the intra-Afghan negotiation. Besides, the premature withdrawal of the U.S forces further gives momentum to the terrorist Taliban for intensifying their fight against the people of Afghanistan which overall pollutes the environment of the peace process.
Dr. Abdullah’s visit to Pakistan and India is made at a time when the contact groups of the Taliban and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan were not able to formulate the regulation for commencing intra-Afghan negotiation. It is widely believed that Pakistan’s role in influencing the Taliban has been critical. Dr. Abdullah’s visit to Pakistan is one way to break the ice to commence the intra-Afghan talks. According to some analysts, the Pakistani establishment may have handed over Dr. Abdullah the plan for future government setup. Dr. Abdullah then headed to India to discuss the plan, and have their endorsement. Meanwhile, mutterings have been heard that during the recent visit of Zulmai Khalilzad US representative for Afghan peace, to Qatar, the Taliban have shared their demand for the future government. The Taliban’s future government deemed Islamic. The head of state and the members of Parliament thought to be elected by the supreme council of religious scholars. The system common during the early Islamic period in which the four caliphs after the prophet Mohammad were put in power.
On the other hand, the Taliban’s Lashkargah offensive is drawing the international community’s backlash. Mr. Stefano Pontecorvo NATO’s civilian representative for Afghanistan said that the Taliban’s attack on Lashkargah will have consequences. The United States’ ambassador to Afghanistan made it clear that the offensive by the Taliban on Lashkargah is a breach of the Doha agreement. With that said that the Taliban’s Lashkargah offensive has not only undermined the U.S Taliban agreement, it also negatively affected the credibility of the Taliban as political power. The Lashkargah assault is further indicative of the fact that the Taliban violated the agenda points agreed upon at the Doha agreement which is cutting ties with al-Qaida, reduction of violence, and initiating the intra-Afghan peace negotiation. Moreover, the Taliban have blamed the American for breaching the Doha agreement by helping the Afghan security forces with air support in repelling the Taliban attack. Zulmai Khalilzad in his statement tweetedon October 18, 2020,stated that “Unfounded charges of violations and inflammatory rhetoric do not advance peace. Instead, we should pursue strict adherence to all articles of the U.S.-Taliban Agreement and U.S.-Afghanistan Joint Declaration and not neglect the commitment to gradually reduce violence” The new blame game not only affects the US, and the Taliban relation, it also does not facilitate the intra-Afghan peace process. It may spoil the overall Afghan peace talks.
The United States foreign policy under the leadership of President Trump for Afghanistan has been made a scapegoat for the sake of winning the upcoming presidential election. President Trump’s tweet on October 7, in which he assured to bring back the remaining troops by Christmas this year, is alarming. This tweet even voids the State Department’s several statements in which the US troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan is said to be condition-based. This statement was made clear in the Doha agreement between the US and the Taliban. That means If the Taliban break their ties with al-Qaid, reduce violence, and initiate intra-Afghan peace talk. The Taliban never fulfilled any of these promises. The Lashkargah assault by the Taliban gives us a clear message that if The US withdraws its troops prematurely before reaching any political deal with the Taliban, Afghanistan may once again fall into the hands of a-Qaid and other terrorist networks who may pose threat to the west, in particular to the US. The U.S foreign policy for South and Central Asia has been to uphold the hegemonic status of the U.S against Russia, and the imminent rise of China as the hegemonic monster replacing the United States. Trump has undermined that hegemonic status for his greed of winning the presidential election 2020. The current peace process by the State Department has been rushed for the sake of enhancing the vote bank for Mr. Trump, This not only pose threat to the U.S liberal order in Asia but also increases the chance of a similar attack of 9/11 against the U.S and her allies.
Mahatma Gandhi once said that “There is no path to peace, peace is the path” The Taliban have to put an end to the bloodshed, to nourish the environment of trust for seeking enduring peace. Taliban’s continued offensive over Helmand and their ties with al-Qaida are among the main challenges in the relation between the Taliban, and the US. Lack of trust between the Taliban and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has led to a standoff in the negotiation process. The Taliban aggressive offensive in over more than 20 provinces has negatively affected the initiation of the peace process in Doha. Dr. Abdullah’s visit to Pakistan and India is a step toward seeking regional consensus for Afghan peace. However, the U.S foreign policy for Asia has been taken for granted for the 2020 presidential election by the Trump administration. If upholding the U.S hegemonic status in Asia was the top priority as it has been the policy of Trump’s predecessors in the past, the peace process could have been different now. Regional cooperation, in particular Pakistan’s role, and support could have been leveraged in a way that would have ensured lasting peace in Afghanistan and the Reagan, and no threat could confront the U.S hegemony in Asia.