Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, April 16th, 2024

Will Peace with the Taliban Can Establish a Stable Political System in Afghanistan?

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Will Peace with the Taliban Can Establish a Stable Political System in Afghanistan?

Undoubtedly, social disorders like civil war, insurgency attacks, and terrorist activities can damage the capacity of Afghanistan for further development.  Above all, the growing of terrorism and extremism in the latest years in the country faced the nation-state to new worries and serious hurdles.  As a case the violent behavior of the Taliban, has been threaten Afghan well-being and the land aspiration utterly. Moreover, to overcome the dangers of political extremism,  the Afghan government are following up a less costly solution, which is negotiation with the Taliban leadership intended to; form a national unity government that would prevent retuning of radical groups to Afghanistan and secondly  to achieve stability and the national goal, which is a prospered society - where there is people who have good sense of humor, respect their differences, share their strengths, enjoy their values and behave each other’s communally.   In addition, international community including Afghan political organization leaders and other regional players are supporting the stream of dialogue-Afghan intra-talk. After all these efforts, the key question is Will the Taliban able to bring security in the country? Are there any indicator to show that peace with the Taliban result in stable government in Afghanistan? The answer is “No”. 
First reason is the Taliban use ethnic tension as an instrument for grabbing the attention of the racist groups that is the Taliban’s main target.  For the Taliban race is the first and country is the second preference. This manner is dangerous for Afghanistan as a nation that exist with a number of different ethnics and cultures. The Taliban use ethnic division strongly to influence domestic politics in Afghanistan. 
Second, currently, we have democratic administration rely on majority support.  The government have built institutions and constructed organizations, formulated projects, and spent large amounts of money over the past twenty years in order to have free political association, free speech and free media. Adding to that history says that from long time ago the absence of a democratic government had been identified as a leading factor in Afghanistan’s political, economic and social crises.  Informed observers, analysts are in basic agreement with the claim that Taliban does not valuing democratic transition of power, modern constitution and multi-party competition.  For the Taliban believe that liberal democracy in general and multi-parties in particular, increases the power of civil society. The reality is if people have the power to decide about their faith that is not a good news for the Taliban. Because, if the rule of law become strong, the legitimacy of Taliban regimes and their programs have become woefully inadequate. The change from good to bad government, from rule of law to personal rule would be the parameter that decrease trust of citizens in Taliban institutions and authorities. Unfortunately, the Taliban leadership ignore their past lessons as well as do not esteem to the people’s wishes. Taliban insist on Emirate system which has two painful sickness; firstly, they do not believe to democratic governing, and secondly they cannot play as a structure to unite and save Afghanistan in the future.  People want multiparty democracy but Taliban think of Emirate!  How the two opposite ideas become united? While lack of democratic government was one of the failure of the Taliban regime. For the Taliban go wrong after they have captured Kabul.  When the United States, in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led a military campaign against Taliban, soon the Taliban rule collapsed and an elected Afghan government has replaced them.
Third, lack of toleration is another indicator that shows Taliban do not work for establishing a government system based on citizens’ decision-making.  They just want changes in most fundamental structure of the government - changes that may produce shifts in policy and other political outcomes, though the Taliban knew that the constitutional changes is not acceptable via the public and all the political parties. The Taliban leaders do not remember their shocking defeat in 2001.   On the other hand, Emirate leaders do not tolerate liberal democratic constitutional rule.  Because they want unelected and military regimes that is lacking in accountability, transparency and rule of law. The secret networks generated by the Taliban and the involvement of outside supporters have a huge impact on the Taliban’s decision and policy-making.
Fourth, the survival of the new Afghan state greatly would depend on foreign assistance for at least another decade. The need for international assistance is a strong incentive for to maintain unity and invest its energy and resources in having democratic government. The world community and the people’s acceptance and support of the future government depends on the government’s commitment to reform, accountability, freedom, human rights, women rights and efficiency in security.  Unluckily the Taliban are against all the free society values, which are accountability and transparency.
To conclude, a stable political system is crucial for the growth of Afghanistan in terms of guaranteeing societal stability and spurring economic growth for the betterment of the people.  Democratic government plays an integral role in fostering this unity by equipping individuals with an educated and objective perspective on intercultural interaction, helping them to effectively and effortlessly navigate through the waters of diversity. Therefore, the right approach to put Afghanistan on a more stable and sustainable path is to accept democracy as a way to allocate power based on popular support.  So, political stability cannot be achieved with peace agreement without addressing social justice issues and lacking respecting the constitution that guarantee the rights of all the respected ethnics, live in Afghanistan.    We should not forget that Afghanistan is multi-ethnic and a complex society. There are divisions and possible tensions between the poor and the rich, the ethnics and the sects. Most racial conflicts arise in the form of religious clashes. Tolerance and understanding, plays a role in bridging this religious divide and subsequently uniting the nation.  The culture of seeking power through nonviolent political struggle must be developed for power through elections and other peaceful means. Therefore, all the efforts that offer by effective political leadership, diplomacy, and intellectual resources of the country must direct the Afghan - Intra talk for establishing democratic governance, which is the backbone of a stable administration in Afghanistan.

Dawlat Bakhtiari is the newly emerging writer of the Daily Outlook Afghanistan. He can be reached outlookafghanistan@gmail.com

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