Since August 2021, the Taliban have been the de facto rulers of Afghanistan after toppling the Western-backed government of President Ashraf Ghani. The Taliban’s takeover of Kabul was also the result of the hasty withdrawal of the U.S. and allied forces from Afghanistan. Since then, the country has been in turmoil and has faced a humanitarian crisis owing to the Taliban’s hardline stance of not forming an inclusive government representing all groups and the ensuing sanctions against the group.
Despite sanctions and international isolation, the Taliban are unwilling to show any leniency in their behavior. Consequently, the people of Afghanistan suffer and peace in Afghanistan remains a distant dream. The primary responsibility for this state of affairs rests with the international community, particularly with the U.S. and most recently, the United Nations.
In February 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration signed an “Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan” – the so-called Doha Accord – with the Taliban after fighting against the group for almost two decades. During the negotiations, the Ghani administration was completely sidelined.
The Doha Accord consisted of four parts: a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire, a pledge to not allow the use of Afghan soil by any group against the U.S. and its allies, a complete withdrawal of the foreign forces from Afghanistan, and intra-Afghan negotiations. After the agreement, the U.S. and its allies left the country haphazardly and the Taliban did not fulfill any of its commitments.
There was no ceasefire, at least from the Taliban’s side. The country witnessed a sharp increase in violence. The Taliban carried out more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan within two months after signing the Doha Accord. The group did not want the intra-Afghan talks to proceed without Ghani’s resignation. Al-Qaida and other groups remained, and remain, in Afghanistan. The killing of al-Qaida’s leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in a drone strike in Kabul in 2022 is a case in point that the Taliban have not fulfilled their commitment to stop any terrorist group from using Afghan soil.
Four years after the agreement, both parties accuse each other of not fulfilling their commitments. In this blame game, it is, nevertheless, the people of Afghanistan who suffer while longing for a long-lasting peace in their homeland.
It is pertinent to note here that the so-called Doha Accord did not mention human rights, including the rights of women and girls to attain education at a higher level. The Taliban were notorious for violations of human rights during their rule between 1996 and 2001. The exclusion of such rights while signing an agreement with the group was a sign that the U.S. only cared for a face-saving withdrawal without giving due consideration to the grievances of the Afghan people, particularly women.
Resultantly, according to UNESCO, there are 2.5 million people out of school in Afghanistan, including 80 percent of school-aged girls and women in Afghanistan. In September 2021, girls over the age of 12 were not allowed to return to school which left 1.1 million girls and women without access to formal education – a basic human right. Moreover, it is estimated that 30 percent of Afghan girls have never been enrolled in primary education throughout the country. Such a dire situation demands collaborative efforts to make education accessible for all girls and young women in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, their fate remains the same and the Taliban have no intentions to reopen secondary schools for girls in the foreseeable future.
In order to pressure the Taliban to fulfill their Doha Accord commitments, the U.S. and its allies have put sanctions on the Taliban. The Taliban, however, have not moved an inch. Instead, the Taliban are indirectly benefiting from U.S. funds donated to the people of Afghanistan.
After Washington’s disastrous blunder in excluding other stakeholders from participating in the Doha negotiations, the United Nations is on the same path
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres initiated the Doha Process on Afghanistan and chaired its first two meetings in May 2023 and February 2024. The primary motive behind the initiative is to establish a process to engage the Taliban in a global dialogue. The Taliban were not invited to the first meeting, and they refused to participate in the second, demanding that they should be treated as the sole representative of the Afghan people. The Taliban’s refusal was a blessing in disguise for other groups, including Afghan activists and women, who were provided an opportunity to put their issues on the table and grab international attention.
The U.N., however, was desperate to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. That is why they were the only party from Afghanistan invited to the third meeting on Afghanistan in Doha in June-July 2024, a repeat of the blunder of the 2020 Doha Accord between the Taliban and Washington. The U.N. excluded other groups from taking direct part in the meetings, indirectly giving the Taliban what they they longed for since taking control of Kabul in the summer of 2021: sole representation of Afghanistan.
Notwithstanding the clear message the Taliban successfully conveyed, the U.N. hailed the meeting as frank and useful for bringing the de facto ruling group in Afghanistan to the table. The U.N., as well as the delegates, deemed the meeting a blessing for the process, but they failed to give due consideration to the possibility of it merely reaffirming the Taliban’s position.
U.N. Under Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo, however, said in a press conference after the meeting that the issues of Afghan women and civil society were raised during the meeting with the Taliban delegation, albeit without any commitment from the group’s lead representative, the Taliban’s chief spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid. Arguably, the group was the clear winner, putting a question mark on the credibility of the process as they did not adequately discuss the issues of common Afghan people, including women. The Taliban were present to pitch their concerns vis-à-vis sanctions and frozen funds. They were handed a clear victory.
The U.S. and the global community have repeatedly failed to recognize that engaging with the Taliban alone will not bear fruitful results. To sit at the table with the Taliban on their terms, excluding any other group from taking part in the negotiations, is self-destructive. This approach will not only empower the Taliban once again but will also make them confident that no matter how they act, the international community will eventually bend the knee. They will continue do do as they please without giving due consideration to the suffering of common Afghans, especially women and children.
However, it is not only the Taliban that are responsible for this critical situation in Afghanistan, but also the international community which has failed to bring all parties to the table to establish a dialogue for peace and harmony. It is imperative for the international community, mainly the U.S. and the U.N., to involve all groups in the negotiations to find a peaceful solution for Afghanistan.