There appears to be a huge wave of political developments happening in Afghanistan. All actors and parties that have a stake in this war-torn country are at play and have intensified their campaigns to achieve their own defined goals. International community- no longer uttering "nation-building" and "state-building" in their statements and remarks about Afghanistan- are moving too fast towards an honorable exit gate to walk out of Afghanistan, which was trumpeted as a success story of a liberated country in early years of the first decade of twenty first century.

The neighboring countries that have been pursuing their interests in a destabilized Afghanistan have come to believe that the international-led democratization project has failed and have begun to align their pieces on the political chessboard of Afghanistan. The Taliban that continue to both stick to their destructive, brutal and repressive ideology and serve as agents for strategic interests of their foreign bosses have begun to nourish their hopes and dreams for a return to power in order to re-establish their Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

President Hamid Karzai, who heads an extremely centralized political system and decision-making process, follows a two-pronged strategy- that is to say- cling to power directly or indirectly as well as contribute to the hegemony of an ethnic group.

He has not hesitated to emotionalize the situation and use religion as an instrument to gain political advantages. This strategic intention has led to flawed and non-transparent peace efforts because an inclusive reconciliation process requires and includes considering accommodation of the interests of all political and ethnic groups of the country, and president Karzai does not want such a process to be in place because this could prevent his strategy to be realized.

Here comes Afghan people, civil society and political parties. They are tired of the continuing violence and ineffectiveness of the presence of international community. They are also concerned about the danger of democratic achievements being reversed with the disengagement of international community and return of Taliban to power.

They want an inclusive and transparent negotiation and peace-making process for the purpose of a democratic, pluralistic, stabilized and prosperous Afghanistan, where everyone is a citizen and has their equal rights. Afghanistan appears to be becoming as a theatre for aggressive campaigns to turn the above-listed conflicting goals.

Holy Quran burning issue and the consequent provocations; Ulema Council's guidelines on women's presence in the society; the shooting in Kandahar and the ongoing reactions; and many other developments in the country could be analyzed in this context.

This trend could lead to plunging Afghanistan into a new round of ethnic conflict if the neighboring countries, the Taliban and president Karzai succeed in translating their goals into realities; international community fails to leave behind a stable pluralistic Afghanistan due to their impatience; and Afghan people, civil society and political parties fail to convince international community to stay and keep their permanent but effective presence in the country.