On February 18, 2020, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) organized a roundtable discussion on “Recent Developments in the Afghan Peace Process".
The panel discussion was accompanied by Amb. Waheed Omer, Senior Advisor to the President of Afghanistan on Public Relations and Strategic Affairs, Amb. Jawed Ludin, Former Deputy Foreign Minister, and Prof. Barnett Rubin, Associate Director of New York University's Center on International Cooperation and Member of AISS Advisory Board, with moderation by Former MP and Chairperson of Movement of Change for Afghanistan, Ms. Fawzia Koofi.
Ms. Fawzia Koofi started the roundtable with an introduction to the current situation, the recent developments in the peace process, and the concerns of the people of Afghanistan.
Waheed Omer spoke about the position of the Afghan government in the ongoing talks and agreement (soon to be signed) between the U.S. Government and the Taliban. He said that the Afghan government is working on coordinating and communicating the “significant reduction in violence” to local authorities, commanders and the ranks of Afghan National Security Forces. He also said that the Afghan government is also working on a mechanism to lead an inclusive peace process where all Afghans are represented. He iterated that an inclusive peace does not mean only including the political elite in the negotiating team. Omer said that there is a problem with the use of the term “intra-Afghan talks”. He said that the use of the said term would mean there is a civil war in the country. He said that the peace negotiation will be between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which is represented by a constitutional government, and the Taliban group.
Jawed Ludin spoke about consensus in the Afghan peace process. He said that there has been de-facto consensus in the side of the republic on the issues related to Taliban. He said that on many important historical occasions, we have lost opportunities and that is why we are in the current position. He said that we are in another historic position. Ludin said that elected Afghan government represents the people, but there is need for consensus on issues of great importance. He emphasized that the negotiating team must have strong support from the people. Ludin said that the current peace process is initiated and led by the American, so we need to indigenize it and take the lead.
Prof. Barnett Rubin spoke about the regional consensus in the Afghan peace process and the risks of the peace agreement with the Taliban. He said that the common misunderstanding of the U.S. policy is that the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan is the result of peace negotiations. He said, “The U.S. decision to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan has resulted to peace negotiations. Prof. Rubin said that the U.S. has to rely on Afghanistan’s neighbors to supply logistics to its troops. He said that U.S. cannot stay in Afghanistan forever and Afghanistan cannot be stable sans having a good relations with its neighbors.
At the end of the program, the speakers of the program engaged in Q&A session with the audience.