4-country session resolves to establish durable peace in Afghanistan

The quadrilateral process involving Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the USA was launched during a meeting of the four countries on the sidelines of the Heart of Asia Conference held in Islamabad last month.

Essential Afghan, Chinese, Pakistani and United States officials have met for discussions geared toward creating a roadmap for peace between the Taliban along with Afghanistan.

The Taliban, which are fighting to restore strict Islamic rule in place before the group was removed from power in 2001, are divided on whether to participate in any future talks.

Pakistan is hosting four-way talks aimed at reviving dialog between Kabul and the Taliban militant group, and eventually ending years of bloodshed in war-torn Afghanistan. This is because Pakistan is widely understood to be housing the Taliban leadership on its soil and has influence over them, though it denies this. “Those who are interested in peace can join the dialogue, but those who wish to continue the fight will be targeted through joint counter-terrorism platforms”, he said. The Afghan government would have to come up with an offer as to how many seats in the parliament as well as in the cabinet could be offered to the Taliban.

Monday’s meeting marked the most consequential gathering on this issue since an effort broke down in late July when news leaked that Mohammad Omar, the Taliban’s reclusive supreme leader, had died two years earlier. Pakistan was represented by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry in the meeting.

Those obstacles are formidable, including the apparent absence so far of any Taliban representatives. He termed it one of the key elements to ensure that the peace process remains constructive and achieves a meaningful outcome. The Taliban blew up the statues, ignoring the roars of dissent, including from Pakistan.

However, questions remain about how united the Taliban in Afghanistan truly is. Those gains could embolden hard-line Taliban leaders to steer clear of negotiations, he said.

Taliban fighting normally quiets down in winter months with the insurgents resting ahead of an annual spring offensive, but this year has seen a series of fierce attacks – many focused on Kabul in recent weeks, including three in the capital since Friday.

Pakistan’s powerful chief of army staff, General Raheel Sharif, visited Kabul at the end of the year as well.

“We hope their words are translated into action”, Faisal said.

As I discussed at the end of 2015, the current groundwork for resuming peace talks comes after an attempt by both Kabul and Islamabad to pick up the pieces of a failed attempt at bilateral rapprochement between their governments last summer.

Maulvi Shazada Shaeid, a representative on Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, tasked with seeking peace with the Taliban, said the distance between the two sides is vast, holding out little hope for peace.