KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – A recently submitted US draft deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government is the best chance to accelerate stalled peace talks between the country’s warring factions, former Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview on Thursday. .
After decades of war and conflict, the Afghans themselves are “in a hurry for peace” and are eager to start healing their country, Karzai told The Associated Press.
Frustrated by the escalating violence and slow pace of negotiations that have been underway in Qatar since last year, Washington proposed peace to both sides in the protracted conflict, a copy the AP obtained earlier this week.
Karzai, who is considered a key player in the ongoing talks, told the AP that the proposed US peace plan contains important provisions that could help bring peace to Afghanistan – with some revisions by both sides.
Despite Karzai’s optimistic assessment, Washington’s plan could meet serious opposition from President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban. Ghani opposes the idea of an interim government as part of a transition period and sees it as an attempt to reduce his power. Some of the Taliban’s practices, particularly regarding the public role of women and demands for an Islamic system, may run counter to the ideas of the United States.
Karzai, who was Afghan president from 2001 to 2014, has no formal role in the negotiations, but is seen as a key player. He is routinely consulted by Washington’s peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, and has been instrumental in bringing political opponents to the table.
Karzai said the US proposal could lead a war-weary nation to elections; it protects the rights of women and minorities, provides a way to bring about constitutional reform and provides interim administration.
The US has already tried to convey to negotiators the need for swift action.
In a letter to Ghani accompanying the proposal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there is an urgent need for Afghanistan’s warring factions to find a peaceful end to a war that has been going on for nearly 20 years and the U.S. 1 trillion.
Karzai said Afghans themselves are “in a hurry for peace.”
“Peace is such a deep, deeply desired wish of the Afghan people,” said Karzai. “You cannot imagine how in a hurry we are to achieve peace for us and our young people.”
He expressed the hope that the US proposal could serve as a catalyst for both sides to make peace, perhaps even before May 1 – the deadline for a definitive withdrawal of US forces under an agreement between the US and the Taliban became reached a year ago. For now, talks in Qatar seem hopelessly stalled, while negotiators are still arguing over the agenda. Karzai did not comment on his cause for optimism.
Meanwhile, Washington is still reviewing the Taliban deal with the Trump administration, signed on February 29, 2020. Blinken said in his letter to Ghani that a withdrawal of US troops on May 1 is still on the table.
Karzai said he was against the withdrawal of US and NATO forces on May 1 and warned it would cause chaos. He said it was in the interests of both Washington and Kabul to have a responsible exit.
“It is extremely important for the United States and the US allies and for those who have been or have been in Afghanistan for the past 20 years to be responsible, to do things that will bring lasting peace,” he said. “So a responsible departure or a responsible stay in a peaceful Afghanistan are both things we must consider very carefully.”
The Taliban have so far rejected the idea of international forces remaining in Afghanistan after May 1, but Karzai said they may be convinced to accept a modified US presence in peaceful Afghanistan.
Karzai said Afghanistan’s National Reconciliation Council, of which he is a member, will meet on Sunday. The council, headed by Abdullah Abdullah, will review the US proposal and respond with proposed revisions in the coming days. The board of directors is the final arbiter on what the government will accept in a peace deal.
Ghani has so far remained silent about Blinken’s letter and the US proposal. His first vice president, Amrullah Saleh, said earlier this week that the president was not impressed by the rigidly worded letter and that he was demanding that the Taliban join his government or that elections for a new government should be held. has not dropped.
Ghani has steadfastly opposed an interim government.
Karzai said that if Ghani’s government could bring the warring groups together, “we would support it,” but he said he was unable to do so and warned against sacrificing an opportunity for peace to stay in power .
A series of international meetings are underway to jump-start peace talks – Russia has invited Ghani, the Taliban, regional players and the US to a meeting in Moscow next week.
Blinken has proposed that the United Nations convene an international conference on Afghanistan within weeks, in which the foreign ministers of Russia, China, Iran, Pakistan and the US will participate.
There will also be a conference in Turkey, where Blinken has said he expects a peace agreement to be finalized.
Karzai said a peaceful Afghanistan is important to all of its neighbors, but especially to Pakistan, where Taliban leaders are headquartered and with whom Afghanistan has had a difficult relationship, while Pakistan is still hosting 1.5 million Afghan refugees.