Afghans need to find a roadmap to peace and stability themselves
On 23rd November, Heinrich-Boell-Foundation, conducted a conference with the title “Ten Years after Petersberg: Where does Afghanistan stand today?”. The participation of Afghans was quite significant in the conference. Apart from the representatives from Afghan civil society and media, political analysts, and members of parliament who attended the conference as speakers, the presence of a prominent number of Afghan students studying in Germany was also noteworthy.
The presence of participants representing different organizations and backgrounds added to the multi-facetted nature of the discussion. In addition to what the Afghan speakers shared, the questions raised by student activists, who represent the future of our country, made the environment of the conference further interesting and some very important points emerged from the discussions.
One of the speakers at the conference was Amrullah Saleh, the former Chief of Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security. Mr. Saleh highlighted the mistakes and shortcomings of the past decade and emphasized the need for the international community to provide long-term support to the democratic structures in Afghanistan. Expressing his concerns over the future of Afghanistan, Mr. Saleh said the Afghan security forces needed more attention and their capacity must be bolstered so that they could defend Afghanistan on their own after international troops withdraw in 2014. In order to avoid further deterioration of the situation, Mr. Saleh insisted on immediate administrative reforms in Afghanistan. According to him, there is not enough time to bring about such reforms before 2014 but the implementation of reforms must happen as soon as possible.
Francesc Vendrell, EU’s former special representative to Afghanistan, pointed at the mistakes of the international community in Afghanistan. According to him, Afghanistan has made some very vital improvements in the last ten years. But due to certain mistakes, one could not be optimistic about the future of this country. Mr. Vendrell said that the appointment of unprofessional individuals to key positions in government organizations, lack of seriousness in the DDR process (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration) and non implementation of transitional justice have caused the prevailing uncertain conditions in Afghanistan.
Mr. Vendrell was of the view that Afghans should reduce their expectations from the world and move towards a political solution while keeping in view the ground realities pertaining to their country and the region. In other words, there should be a power-sharing with the Taliban. That is an idea that has a great number of supporters, in European countries. However, power-sharing is being recommended for Afghanistan without considering its complexities and the lack of willingness of the Taliban to resolve the Afghan war in a political way.
In the conference, the role of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and prospects of regional cooperation also came under discussion. Christian Wagner from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) was of the opinion that financial assistance alone could not reduce the regional tension and regain the lost trust. In response to this, Ejaz Haider, a Pakistani independent security analyst, talked about what goals and objectives Pakistan was pursuing in Afghanistan. According to him, Pakistan is supporting all efforts made to bring security and stability to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, he emphasized a solution that aims at solving the territorial issues between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Darcy Burner, President of the Progressive Congress, talked about the uncertainty and vagueness of US policies in Afghanistan. She explained how Americans, after ten years, had realized that their presence in Afghanistan was too costly. Sanjar Sohail, representing an Afghan perspective in this panel, described the enhancement of regional cooperation as a key to success and trust building. In response to Ejaz Haider, he said that talking about Afghanistan-Pakistan territorial issues was quite sensitive at this time but that it had to be dealt with sooner or later. This would only be possible, if Pakistan declared to be ready for transparent and sincere cooperation. Sanjar Sohail also said that the uncertainty in US policies had caused a sense of hopelessness among Afghans. He demanded more transparency and accountability from the US.
Fahim Hakim, Deputy Head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC), highlighted the negative impacts Afghanistan could face after the international troops’ withdrawal and emphasized the importance of continuing international financial support and upholding commitments to Afghanistan. The drawdown process should be based on the ground realities in Afghanistan. He also said that the Afghan issue could be resolved through good governance and strengthening of democracy. Mr. Hakim urged the government of Afghanistan and its international backers to bear in mind that reconciliation with the Taliban should not put the ten-year gains and the current Afghan democracy at stake.
Michael Steiner, the Special Representative of the German Federal Government to Afghanistan and Pakistan expressed a view similar to that of Francesc Vendrell. He said that Afghans should lower their expectations and be realistic about what can be achieved in the country. According to him, Afghanistan was not a priority anymore because the world had changed in many regards. He also pointed to the fact that the Bonn-II conference would serve as the last chance for Afghans.
Afghanistan belongs to the Afghans themselves. It is the responsibility of the people of Afghanistan, especially the Afghan elite, to lead their country out of the conflict by adopting a roadmap that is acceptable to all ethnic groups of the country. The issues and challenges lying ahead of Afghanistan need to be converted into opportunities. One of the key measures we Afghans can take is to resolve our internal problems and start a serious negotiation process with our neighboring countries and to listen to all their legitimate wants and address their concerns. At the domestic level, administrative reforms and implementation of good governance need to be expedited as the clock is ticking and 2014 is approaching.