Kabul, May 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) An inordinate delay in the intra-Afghan talks has threatened the Afghanistan peace process that was set in motion after a landmark agreement between the US and Taliban signed three months ago.
The agreement between the two sides inked in the Qatari capital of Doha on February 29 laid a roadmap for a phased withdrawal of American troops from the war-ravaged country, reports Efe news on Friday.
The deal included a prisoner swap between the Taliban and the Afghan forces as a precursor to intra-Afghan talks for peace in the country after 19 years of a devastating war.
However, the exchange of 5,000 Taliban prisoners for 1,000 of those from the security forces, originally set to commence on March 10, was offset by a dramatic spike in violence and disagreements between the Afghan government and the insurgents.
According to political analyst Safiullah Mullakhil, the delay in the peace talks showed "a lack of will, trust and honesty" between the government and the Taliban that has posed a threat to the process.
"If the matter is not resolved in proper time, the process could end up in a failure that could push the country to other dangerous scenarios including civil war," Mullakhil told Efe news.
The insurgents, who had negotiated with the US for a withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan within 14 months, refused to engage in direct talks with Kabul and demanded the release of all 5,000 of their inmates as a precondition.
On the other hand, the Afghan government, which was mostly sidelined from the negotiations, has argued against releasing a large number of Taliban prisoners amid increasing armed violence from the insurgents and without official discussions on the prisoner swap.
Mullakhil, a member of the Kabul-based Rana think-tank, believes the Taliban do not have faith in the intra-Afghan talks and have been making excuses to delay the process.
Despite disagreements on the prisoner swap mechanism, the government has so far released 2,000 Taliban prisoners over the last two months, while the insurgent group only freed a few hundred security forces members.
Moreover, an increase in violence caused more disruptions.
Following a week-long reduction in violence towards the end of February, which paved way for the signing of the Doha agreement, the Taliban intensified its offensive against government forces throughout the country.
The Afghan government held the Taliban responsible for 3,712 attacks between March 1-May 14, in which 469 civilians were killed and 948 injured, apart from the casualties suffered by the security forces.
According to a UN report released on May 19, Taliban attacks caused 208 civilian casualties in April, an increase of 25 per cent from last year, whereas the Afghan security forces caused 172 civilian deaths or injuries, an increase of 38 per cent.
The Taliban refused to declare a ceasefire or even reduce violence against the Afghan forces, except for the three days of Eid earlier this week.
The political deadlock between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah has also been blamed for the delay in talks.
On May 17, Ghani signed a power-sharing agreement for a unity government with Abdullah, following months of a post-election political impasse that had hampered any development in the peace process with the Taliban.
Abdullah, as chairman of the newly formed High Council for National Reconciliation, is set to head the talks with the Taliban, but the complete structure of this body is yet to be constituted.
Source: IANS
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