A shady peace deal for Afghanistan

topic:	Peace and Reconciliation
located:	Afghanistan, USA
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

The proposed deal between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan seems mainly driven by tactical interests of the warning sides – lacking essence of addressing the human toll of the war so far or ensuring it does not repeat.

Afghanistan remains one of the poorest, most corrupt and deadly countries despite the apparent generous foreign monetary funding as well as the sacrifices of men and women in uniform over all these years.

Some three million Afghans are displaced in their own country out of a total estimated 3.5 million population. Close to six million are refugees wandering in different corners of the world and close to two million are drug addicts. The rest of the population is not in an ideal state either, gripped by crippling poverty amid a dearth of services, opportunities for education and jobs etc.

The prevailing corruption in government institutions makes it literally impossible for innocent war victims to seek justice and compensation. So what mechanisms have been discussed by the US and the Taliban in their marathon round of talks to ensure justice is done after their likely inking of the proposed deal (that is mainly focused on the withdrawal of foreign troops and guarantees that international terrorism would not be launched from Afghanistan)?

All warning sides have blood of the civilians on their hands in this raging conflict in its 19th year. Only last week, twice, dozens of Afghans had to protest in northern parts of the country against civilian casualties with bodies of their loved ones in the punishing harsh winter.

The third-party, the Afghan government, which has so far been sidelined, seems to struggle for survival as it grabs a seat at the negotiation table. Logically speaking, it is the government that should take a strong stance and lead in representing the population, their rights and seek compensation for their losses.

It leaves the international community, particularly the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to realize and certify that this matter is addressed in any proposed peace deal, and justice is done for the rights of the Afghans who have suffered a lot.

Image: Getty Images/AP

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