by Abdul Haleem, Chen Xin
KABUL, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- The negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban group, which started in September in Doha, Qatar to find a peaceful solution to Afghanistan's prolonged crisis, have yet to bear results, while the security situation in the country has seen little improvement.
The talks were launched in the wake of the U.S.-Taliban peace deal inked in Doha on Feb. 29. The aim of the deal was to end the war in Afghanistan, withdraw thousands of U.S.-led foreign troops from the country and facilitate the intra-Afghan talks to find a political solution to the country's prolonged war.
U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban second-in-command Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar signed the agreement, in the absence of the Afghan government.
Under the agreement, the intra-Afghan dialogue was supposed to begin on March 10, but it eventually started with a six-month delay on Sept. 12.
CHALLENGING PEACE TALKS
Although the intra-Afghan dialogue has started, the negotiating teams of the Afghan government and the Taliban outfit have yet to finalize the agenda and procedure of the talks.
To facilitate the talks, the Afghan government has set free over 5,000 Taliban prisoners in exchange for 1,000 security personnel held by the Taliban as part of the U.S.-Taliban agreement and in return demanded the Taliban to observe the ceasefire.
However, the Taliban outfit rejected the demand, saying that there will not be a ceasefire unless both sides reach an agreement on main issues including the future governing system of the country.
The armed group has been insisting on the restoration of Islamic Emirate -- the former Taliban regime ousted by the U.S.-led military invasion in late 2001.
On the other side, the Afghan government described the current political system as an Islamic setup, saying the "Islamic Republic of Afghanistan" represents all Afghans and will not be compromised.
U.S. President Donald Trump has earlier announced to withdraw all the U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Christmas, a decision welcomed by the Taliban outfit, but the withdrawal has yet to be accomplished.
INCREASING VIOLENCE
Parallel to peace efforts, security incidents have increased across Afghanistan as armed opposition groups intensified activities. The government has accused the Taliban militants of intensifying attacks to gain ground at the negotiating table, a claim rejected by the armed group.
The Taliban said they have reduced violence and will not take action unless and until attacked by government forces.
In Afghanistan, according to officials, there are more than 20 militant groups including the Taliban, Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaida network.
Afghan Interior Ministry said a total of 37 suicide attacks and 510 blasts have killed nearly 500 civilians and injured more than 1,050 others over the past three months.
Although there is no statistic on the casualties of government forces and the insurgents, a total of 2,117 civilians had been killed and 3,822 injured from Jan. 1 to Sept. 30 this year, according to a report of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) released in October.
AFGHAN GOV'T "MARGINALIZED" IN U.S.-TALIBAN DEAL
Afghanistan's Second Vice President Sarwar Danish in a statement released by his office in November called upon the upcoming U.S. administration to review the peace deal and exert pressure on the Taliban group to reduce violence in the country.
Earlier in October, Afghanistan's National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib confirmed that the Afghan government was not part of the U.S.-Taliban peace deal and therefore "doesn't want the conditions to be imposed on Afghans," saying the government is hopeful that the intra-Afghan talks owned by Afghans would lead to returning viable peace in the country.
"From the beginning fault was tangible in the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement. One of the mistakes was marginalizing the government of Afghanistan in the so-called peace agreement," political and military analyst Gen. (Rtd) Atequllah Amarkhil told Xinhua.
The analyst also noted that "lack of consensus among negotiating teams to finalize the agenda of the peace talks and observe ceasefire" clearly indicates the faults in the U.S-Taliban deal.
"It is a complex process. In addition to the Taliban, there are several more militant groups such as al-Qaida, Islamic State (IS) and splinted Taliban who are against the peace deal. If peace deal inked with Doha-based Taliban, other groups would continue to fight," renowned analyst Nazari Pariani said. Enditem
