Talks and meetings with the Taliban, spearheaded by the Americans, have been resumed after the initial contacts had ended in failure. Qatar and Germany were the two countries that had facilitated the process of outreach and confidence-building between the two sides. Occasional contacts and meetings led to more serious talks being hosted by Qatar and Germany.
In these meetings, some representatives of the Taliban had participated, although they were not the main decision-makers in the complex yet fragmented hierarchy of the Taliban leadership. Maldives was also the venue for some meetings involving a number of senior Taliban leaders and officials within and close to the government of Afghanistan.
It was widely believed that those meetings were organized by the Maldives government; however, the truth was that the Maldives government had nothing to do with the meetings. The country of Maldives was chosen as a venue because Maldives is one of the few countries to which Afghan passport holders can enter without a visa! The serene and idyllic views of Maldivian beaches and its shallow shore waters provided a perfect spot for the Taliban leaders and their sympathizers to sit in front of more liberal Afghans and spew out their old, tried, tested and failed dogma.
The ideologues of the Taliban movement and those who provide the ideological backing to the movement, have for more than one occasion, affirmed their firm position and made it clear that the movement would continue to fight as long as its coffers are well-supplied and the flow of fighters is unhindered.
The new round of talks with the facilitation of Qatar and Germany are being sponsored by the Americans and the government of Pakistan. The U.S. is especially interested in the success of the talks. The government of Afghanistan and its beleaguered peace council are yet to make any major breakthrough in the so-called "peace process". Perhaps, the main reason for the failure of the government of Afghanistan and the High Peace Council has been the lack of any strategic content in the government's efforts to bring the Taliban into the fold.
The government's efforts have thus far been limited to bribing and throwing money at militant outfits with the leadership hierarchy of the Taliban and other militant groups falling out of the purview of the government efforts. Opening the knot of the conflict in Afghanistan and taking effective steps towards reconciling the leadership of the Taliban requires an approach that involves strategic thinking and planning and working on the full spectrum of factors (domestic, regional and international) that affect the situation in Afghanistan.
The government's haphazard approach, thus far, has lacked focusing on the full range these factors and has been limited to reaching out to a few militant foot soldiers here and there. Here, the government has not been talking to the right people and at the right places.
On the other hand, the American efforts to bring the Taliban around has been a holistic approach; it has involved talking to the right people and at the right places and knocking on the right doors. The Americans, knowing the indispensable role of Pakistan, have now started working closely with the Pakistani security services in seeking out contacts within the Taliban hierarchy.
The Americans are also conducting secret talks with militant leaders on a strategic level by chalking out a role for them in the future set-up of power in Afghanistan – a move that is inherently extremely dangerous.
The American efforts rely on giving formal recognition and official status to the Taliban and legitimizing their movement. This process of legitimizing the Taliban and forcing down their throat the idea of a political office is a particularly dangerous idea and move.
When you start to give formal recognition to a militant guerrilla army through giving them an official status and a political representation office, it, in fact, amounts to raising the enemy to a level on par with a sovereign state and country. This can and will further embolden the Taliban and will in fact turn out to be a blessing in disguise for a Taliban that so far has rebuffed any kind of outreach by the Americans and the beleaguered government in Kabul.
This move is sure to further make the Taliban firmer in their resolve to remain on the path of war and violence. It will prove to be a major morale booster for the weakened Taliban rank and file and their senior commanders. It will also further strengthen the hands of those actors whose invisible hands have helped to fuel the fires of the Taliban insurgency. It is an idea that is certain to ultimately backfire on all those who yearn for genuine peace and fight to prevent Talibanization of Afghanistan.
Taliban: a historical aberration
Taliban and Talibanism have been a historical aberration in the contemporary history of Afghanistan. Taliban, Talibanism and their type of reading of religion, society, culture and politics are alien to Afghanistan. The history of Afghanistan, recorded in its full glory and detail, is an indisputable testimony to this fact.
The venom of Taliban, Talibanism and what they have on offer are products of the Subcontinent and have been imported into Afghanistan over the past few decades. Only a few weeks ago and on the tenth day of Muharram, the Ashura day, Afghanistan and Kabul witnessed how the same dark forces who conspired to import into Afghanistan Talibanism once again conspired to introduce the virus of religious and sectarian warfare. This conspiracy of mega-large proportions is on full display and all within and outside Afghanistan should join hands and forces to counter this conspiracy.
Afghanistan now runs the risk of gradual Talibanization if the current trend continues and the Taliban are not dealt strongly, but, instead, are allowed to gather forces and men and gain formal recognition through a political representation office.
The history of other insurgencies and militancies in other countries, be it Ireland or Sri Lanka, clearly shows that negotiating and dealing with such insurgent and militant groups from a position of weakness only complicates the problems, further fuels the fire of war and conflict and wastes the time and resources of a nation.