While the rumors about the establishment of a participatory setup gather fresh momentum, Afghans from various parts of the country have reiterated their calls for an immediate end to the ongoing violence that has continued for decades.
The citizens said violence and peace cannot move together, therefore, efforts should be made by warring parties to find reach an agreement on peace.
The citizens also said that there is a need for flexibility from both sides and that the international community should act against Taliban violence.
“Violence has dramatically increased in the past one year,” a Kabul resident Akhtar Sadat said. “The people are tired of security threats, terrorist attacks and explosions.”
“They should reach a peace deal as soon as possible. Peace is the only solution. We don’t have a second option,” said Abdulhaq Zowakman, a Helmand resident.
“Peace should be established in Afghanistan. The current tragedy is quite perilous. There is violence while the people have no food to eat,” said Mohammad Hussain, a resident of Balkh.
This comes as US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who was in Kabul for two days, met with Afghan republic negotiators in Doha on Thursday.
“In the meeting, discussions focused on ways on how to accelerate the peace process to have a result-oriented speed,” Republic negotiator Fawzia Koofi said. “Strengthening regional consensus and the inclusion of those countries in the region that have interest but aren’t involved, also the role of the UN in promoting regional and international consensus.”
It has been more than a year since the US and the Taliban sealed a peace agreement in Doha; but Afghan citizens have said violence has continued despite the agreement's commitments.
Now that the fate of peace remains unclear, fears of a worsening security situation in the coming spring have also increased.
According to two former US officials who attended an online discussion on Afghanistan said the proposed plan for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan does not seem to be based on conditions on the ground in the country.
“For many of us, this is déjà vu all over again,” former US envoy James Cunningham said at an online vent hosted by the Center for a New American Security. “We have an American president faced with arbitrary deadline for full withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. Our allies and partners want us to stay. The proposed withdrawal is not based on conditions on the ground. There isn’t any serious political diplomatic strategy to prepare the ground for the withdrawal.”
Lisa Curtis, a senior director for South and Central Asia on the National Security Council, suggested that the US should salvage the Doha agreement.
“It is in US interest to salvage the current US-Taliban agreement and one way to move forward is to bring greater attention and urgency to the part of the agreement that requires a comprehensive ceasefire and political roadmap,” she said.