No military solution to Afghan conflict

AVA- The decision of cutting 7,000 troops from the current strength of 14,000 also shows that the US has failed to achieve its goals in Afghanistan. 

Earlier the US has been blaming Pakistan for its failures in Afghanistan which Pakistan has completely rejected saying that it has been doing its utmost for restoring peace in Afghanistan. 

Iran and Pakistan who are currently hosting large number of Afghanistan refugees have always stressed peaceful solution to Afghanistan's conflict. 

The US after wasting lot of time and money has come to a realization that they cannot win war in Afghanistan.

The US took the decision when its Special Envoy on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad was in the middle of holding preliminary talks with the regional countries. Still, there is opposition in the US Defense Department for an abrupt withdrawal.

It is not clear whether drawdown is a confidence building measure aimed at the Taliban or an impulsive decision of President Trump. 

Undoubtedly, Taliban would emerge as immediate beneficiaries of the US move and arbiters of the country’s affairs.

Talking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), senior analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai said there is no military solution to Afghan conflict and Americans have realized this a while ago but they were not conceding this. 

He said that one of the purposes of this partial withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan is that President Trump wants to tell American public that he is fulfilling his election promises. 

“During election campaign he had promised that he will withdraw from other countries and he has said that war in Afghanistan was going nowhere and why are we in Afghanistan,” he said. 

The analyst was of the view that Trump from this step wants to convince Taliban that their demand of withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan have been met and all forces can leave Afghanistan if they agree to conclude a peace agreement with Afghan government.

The expert on Afghan affairs went on to say that Trump hopes that Afghan government will get a message and they will come along with the US as there is some opposition within the Afghan government to give any concessions to Taliban. 

Rahimullah Yusufzai added that it is a very significant development. He said that Americans don’t want to say that they have failed and been defeated but this is really an admission of the fact they cannot defeat Taliban.

“It is first time in the last 17 years that the US is actually working for a political solution, it may still not concede defeat, but in a way it is also admission of the fact that the US actually militarily wherever it intervened could not achieve its objective,” he said. 

The United States and the Taliban have also held two days of marathon peace talks in the United Arab Emirates, promising to meet again or another round to complete the Afghanistan reconciliation process.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a statement, said, “Future negotiation meetings shall continue after deliberations and consultations by both sides with their respective leaderships.'

Experts say the US withdrawal is a scenario which may spell disaster for Afghanistan if not handled with utmost care saying all the stakeholders will have to make serious efforts for the success of intra-Afghan dialogue.

Pakistan has so far been treading carefully while facilitating the dialogue between the US and Taliban.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has visited four nations-Afghanistan, Iran, China and Russia- soon after President Trump’s announcement of drawdown. This shows that Pakistan would like to involve the neighbors’ of Afghanistan in order to ensure a comprehensive settlement of the Afghan problem.

Meanwhile, Iran’s top security official has confirmed that the country has been holding talks with the Afghan Taliban in coordination with Kabul to help relieve rampant insecurity in Afghanistan.

“The series of contacts and talks with the Taliban group have taken place with the knowledge of the Afghan government,” Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), said.

Shamkhani made the announcement during a one-day visit to Afghanistan at the invitation of Hamdullah Mohib, the Afghan president’s national security adviser.

Experts say situation in Afghanistan always directly affects Pakistan. Pakistan and regional states seriously want peace in Afghanistan. 

It is interest of the all stakeholders that the US troops leave Afghanistan. The share in the government affairs to Taliban will also bring a positive change in the entire situation and this will straight the affairs in the war-torn country.