Devil Soul
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2010
- Messages
- 22,931
- Reaction score
- 45
- Country
- Location
Amid US pressure, Afghanistan seeks Muslim states’ help
By Tahir Khan
Published: January 4, 2014
ISLAMABAD:
With the start of 2014, the countdown to the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan has started while President Hamid Karzai, with a few more months in power, is yet to receive US support for peace talks with the Taliban.
As the situation becomes tense with the impending withdrawal, Karzai has attached the condition of peace talks with signing the controversial Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). The agreement will allow US to maintain its presence in the country post-Isaf ‘withdrawal’. The US, however, wants the agreement signed without any conditions and the same was conveyed to Karzai by a group of influential US senators this week.
Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Afghan president on Friday, stressed signing the agreement without mentioning any conditions.
“We hope President Karzai signs the agreement as soon as possible as we believe the best way to get the peace process moving is by signing the BSA which will act as a signal to the Taliban that the US-Afghan relationship is here to stay,” said McCain.
Downplaying the importance given by Karzai to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar’s recent release by Pakistani authorities to aid the peace process, McCain said: “As for the release or non-release of this individual [Baradar], it is an issue between Afghanistan and Pakistan so it is hard for me to comment on it.”
Remarks by the senator reflect US urgency in signing the security agreement regardless of peace talks with the Taliban. Karzai had won rare praise by some of his bitter foes – the Taliban and notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar – for his stance on the BSA and is now in a fix as pressure to sign the deal mounts.
A majority of recent public polls reveal Afghans to be welcoming of peace talks with the Taliban – a major expectation with regards to the upcoming presidential polls.
In need of urgent progress over talks with the Taliban, Karzai sent negotiators to Saudi Arabia this week to seek help from the Saudi leadership and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Members of the Afghan High Peace Council, tasked with negotiating with the Taliban, were scheduled to meet senior Saudi officials and the OIC secretary-general to request them to use their influence in the reconciliation process, Maulvi Shehzada Shahid, spokesperson for the council, told The Express Tribune from Kabul.
The council members visited Saudi Arabia at a time when concerns are fast growing that Afghanistan could slip into chaos once more if the Taliban, US and Afghanistan fail to reach a peace deal. Shahid said the delegation also plans to travel to Pakistan in the near future as part its efforts to speed up the reconciliation process.
“We particularly seek the role of Islamic countries and religious scholars in the peace process,” he said, adding they will discuss a proposal with the OIC chief to hold an international conference of religious scholars to discuss an enhanced role of Islamic countries in Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia is an old player in the region, especially with regards to Afghanistan and the Taliban. Hence, the upcoming visit of the Saudi foreign minister to Islamabad is being considered important for the Afghan peace process.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2014.
By Tahir Khan
Published: January 4, 2014
ISLAMABAD:
With the start of 2014, the countdown to the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan has started while President Hamid Karzai, with a few more months in power, is yet to receive US support for peace talks with the Taliban.
As the situation becomes tense with the impending withdrawal, Karzai has attached the condition of peace talks with signing the controversial Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). The agreement will allow US to maintain its presence in the country post-Isaf ‘withdrawal’. The US, however, wants the agreement signed without any conditions and the same was conveyed to Karzai by a group of influential US senators this week.
Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, speaking to reporters after a meeting with the Afghan president on Friday, stressed signing the agreement without mentioning any conditions.
“We hope President Karzai signs the agreement as soon as possible as we believe the best way to get the peace process moving is by signing the BSA which will act as a signal to the Taliban that the US-Afghan relationship is here to stay,” said McCain.
Downplaying the importance given by Karzai to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar’s recent release by Pakistani authorities to aid the peace process, McCain said: “As for the release or non-release of this individual [Baradar], it is an issue between Afghanistan and Pakistan so it is hard for me to comment on it.”
Remarks by the senator reflect US urgency in signing the security agreement regardless of peace talks with the Taliban. Karzai had won rare praise by some of his bitter foes – the Taliban and notorious warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar – for his stance on the BSA and is now in a fix as pressure to sign the deal mounts.
A majority of recent public polls reveal Afghans to be welcoming of peace talks with the Taliban – a major expectation with regards to the upcoming presidential polls.
In need of urgent progress over talks with the Taliban, Karzai sent negotiators to Saudi Arabia this week to seek help from the Saudi leadership and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Members of the Afghan High Peace Council, tasked with negotiating with the Taliban, were scheduled to meet senior Saudi officials and the OIC secretary-general to request them to use their influence in the reconciliation process, Maulvi Shehzada Shahid, spokesperson for the council, told The Express Tribune from Kabul.
The council members visited Saudi Arabia at a time when concerns are fast growing that Afghanistan could slip into chaos once more if the Taliban, US and Afghanistan fail to reach a peace deal. Shahid said the delegation also plans to travel to Pakistan in the near future as part its efforts to speed up the reconciliation process.
“We particularly seek the role of Islamic countries and religious scholars in the peace process,” he said, adding they will discuss a proposal with the OIC chief to hold an international conference of religious scholars to discuss an enhanced role of Islamic countries in Afghanistan.
Saudi Arabia is an old player in the region, especially with regards to Afghanistan and the Taliban. Hence, the upcoming visit of the Saudi foreign minister to Islamabad is being considered important for the Afghan peace process.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 4th, 2014.
