KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – A recently released U.S. project for an agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government is the best chance to accelerate stagnant peace negotiations between the country’s conflicting sides, said former Afghan President Hamid Karzai in an interview on Thursday.
After decades of war and conflict, Afghans themselves “are in a hurry for peace” and eager to start healing their nation, Karzai told the Associated Press.
Frustrated by the escalation of violence and the slow pace of negotiations that have been underway in Qatar since last year, Washington delivered a peace proposal to both sides of the protracted conflict. a copy of which the AP obtained earlier this week.
Karzai, considered a key player in future negotiations, told the AP that the US proposed peace plan contains important provisions that can help bring peace to Afghanistan – with some revisions on both sides.
Despite Karzai’s optimistic assessment, Washington’s plan may encounter serious opposition from President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban. Ghani opposes the idea of an interim government as part of a transitional period, viewing it as an attempt to diminish its power. Some of the Taliban’s practices, particularly on the public role of women and demands for an Islamic system, may run counter to the ideas put forward by the United States.
Karzai, who was president of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014, has no formal role in the negotiations, but is seen as an important player. He is consulted routinely by Washington’s peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, and has been instrumental in bringing political opponents to the table.
Karzai said the US proposal could lead a war-weary nation to elections; it protects the rights of women and minorities, offers a way to achieve constitutional reform and offers an interim administration.
The United States has already tried to convey to negotiators the need for swift action.
In a letter to Ghani that accompanied the proposal, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it is urgent for the warring sides of Afghanistan to find a peaceful end to a war that has lasted almost 20 years and has cost the United States almost $ 1 trillion.
Karzai said the Afghans themselves “are in a hurry for peace”.
“Peace is such a deep, deep and deeply desired desire by the Afghan people,” said Karzai. “You cannot imagine the rush we are making to achieve peace for ourselves and our young people.”
He expressed hope that the US proposal could serve as a catalyst for both sides to make peace, perhaps even before May 1 – the deadline for the final withdrawal of US troops under a US-Taliban agreement reached a year ago. . For now, negotiations in Qatar seem hopelessly paralyzed, with negotiators still discussing the agenda. Karzai did not give details about his cause for optimism.
Meanwhile, Washington is still reviewing the Taliban agreement with the Trump administration, signed on February 29, 2020. Blinken said in his letter to Ghani that the withdrawal of American troops until May 1 was still under discussion.
Karzai said he was against the withdrawal of US and NATO troops on May 1, warning that this would create chaos. He said it was in Washington’s and Kabul’s interests to be responsible.
“It is extremely important for the United States and the US allies and those who (have been) involved in the past 20 years in Afghanistan to be responsible, to do things that will bring lasting peace,” he said. “Therefore, a responsible departure or a responsible stay in peaceful Afghanistan are issues that we must consider very carefully.”
The Taliban have so far rejected the idea of international forces remaining in Afghanistan after May 1, but Karzai said they could be persuaded to accept a modified US presence in peaceful Afghanistan.
Karzai said Afghanistan’s National Reconciliation Council, of which he is a member, will meet on Sunday. The council, headed by Abdullah Abdullah, will review the US proposal and respond with the proposed revisions in the coming days. The leadership of the council is the final arbiter of what the government will accept in a peace deal.
Ghani has been silent about Blinken’s letter and the United States proposal. His first vice president, Amrullah Saleh, said earlier this week that the president was not moved by the firmly drafted letter and that he did not abandon demands that the Taliban join his government or that elections for a new government be held .
Ghani has been firm in opposing an interim government.
Karzai said that if the Ghani government could bring the warring groups together “we would support him”, but he said he was unable and warned against sacrificing an opportunity for peace to remain in power.
A series of international meetings are underway to boost peace negotiations – Russia has invited Ghani, the Taliban, regional actors and the United States to a meeting in Moscow next week.
Blinken proposed that the United Nations convene an international conference on Afghanistan within weeks, which would include foreign ministers from Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan and the United States.
There will also be a conference in Turkey, where Blinken said he hopes to see a peace deal finalized.
Karzai said a peaceful Afghanistan is in the interest of all its neighbors, but particularly in Pakistan, where the Taliban leadership is based and with whom Afghanistan has a troubled relationship, although Pakistan still hosts 1.5 million Afghan refugees.