Peace process with the Taliban: a path strewn with pitfalls

Text by: Sonia Ghezali

4 min

The road to peace is definitely strewn with pitfalls in Afghanistan. While President Ashraf Ghani authorized by decree a little over a week ago the release of 400 of the most dangerous Taliban prisoners, the process is on hold.

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From our correspondent in Kabul,

The liberation process is at a standstill because the Afghan authorities demand the release of all 1,000 members of the Taliban's captive security forces. They refuse to continue the releases of Taliban detainees until theirs are also released.

Under the terms of the tacit agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan authorities, the Taliban are demanding the release of 5,000 prisoners. The Afghan government is calling for 1,000 members of the insurgent security forces to be released.

The Taliban say they all have been. False answers the government of Kabul . This has already released 4,680 prisoners . There are a few hundred left. They are the valuable prisoners. 156 of them were sentenced to death. Several have been charged with participating in bloody attacks against Afghan and foreign targets.

►Also listen: Afghanistan: the authorities release 400 Taliban prisoners

France and Australia opposed to the release of some detainees

It would appear that the requests from France and Australia are playing a role in the suspension of the process. Discussions are underway, a government source said. France asks that three detainees not be released. One is responsible for the death of a humanitarian, two others are responsible for that of five soldiers.

Australia made a similar request for other detainees. The United States would have done the same but if it is not official. Because we have to understand that it is the United States that has been leading the process from the start, through face-to-face meetings with the Taliban in which the Afghan government has never participated.

The release of Taliban prisoners is a requirement of the insurgents to sit at the negotiating table. The Afghan government tried to resist it as long as possible until it gave in to pressure from the United States . But he refuses to give in completely if the Taliban does not respect the terms of the agreement.

“  We are not ready to compromise. If the world compromises on us, we will stand up and say no to the world,  ”hammered Ashraf Ghani  in a speech to the nation on the occasion of Independence Day. But what is its real room for maneuver? She is very thin according to several analysts. Afghanistan is tied hand and foot with the United States as it is its biggest financial contributor.

A doomed peace process?

Many in Afghanistan think that the peace process is doomed to failure and thisfor several different reasons. But let's remember just one element. The lack of balance in compromises. Since the start of the talks in Doha in Qatar between the Taliban and the Americans, the government has been sidelined and it is it who makes the most compromises.

He's cornered. It is under constant pressure from the United States to do everything to start peace negotiations. The Taliban are in a position of strength because their guerrilla militarily has only strengthened in recent years. “  They have time  ” they say. And they are taking it as the United States hurries to withdraw from the country and pushes the Afghan state to accept all of their conditions, even the most difficult.

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• Afghanistan
• Taliban
• Ashraf Ghani

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Afghanistan: France's reservations about the release of some Taliban prisoners