Dozens of Afghan politicians, most of them known as the former Mujahidin who fought against the Soviet Union and helped the US lead international troops to defeat the Taliban in 2001, from across the political factions, met the Taliban delegation in Moscow.
Experts say the fact that Afghan politicians are meeting with the Taliban in Moscow undermines the Afghan government and serves no good for the Afghan peace process.
Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai among them, the two day long talks took place in the Kremlin owned President Hotel.
The Moscow talks come a week after six days of negotiations between US diplomats and the Taliban in the Qatari capital, Doha.
Afghan officials have dismissed the talks and seem unhappy about them, with President Ashraf Ghani saying the Moscow Peace Meeting participants have no authority to make any peace agreement.
In an interview with Afghan channel ToloNews, Mr Ghani accused his predecessor of undermining his government.
Several Afghan politicians, including former president Hamid Karzai, praying after a Taliban Imam. Source: Facebook
“The government’s dignity is the nation’s dignity”, Mr Ghani said in his interview a day before the meeting took place in Moscow.
“I have never, under any circumstances, undermined the dignity of (the) Karzai government”.
In response to the Moscow meeting’s final statement, the Afghan government said it has no practical and operational impact on the Afghan peace process.
According to BBC Persian, the Afghan government has also lodged a formal complaint to the United Nations, saying four members of the Taliban delegation are under UN sanctions and can’t travel without consultation with Afghanistan.
‘Repressive vision of Afghanistan’s future’
The Taliban says it will continue to fight until the US and other foreign forces have completely withdrawn Source: AAP
William Maley, Professor of Diplomacy at the Australian National University says that the statement by the head of the Taliban delegation, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in the Moscow peace meeting once again demonstrated that the insurgents are still firmly committed to a “repressive vision of Afghanistan's future as they were when they occupied Kabul between 1996 and 2001”.
“Western politicians and diplomats delude themselves if they think that the Taliban movement has changed radically from what it was in the 1990s”, said Mr Maley in a statement to SBS Dari.
He described the Moscow meeting as “deeply unfortunate” and the Afghan government as “the internationally-recognised face of Afghanistan to the wider world”.
“… no good is served by undermining its [Afghan government] standing, as meetings of this kind serve to do".
Former Afghan diplomat Abbas Farasoo says the Afghan government is formally recognized by the international community and excluding it from peace talks “is a grave mistake”.
“It is promoting the Taliban's position in the process and undermining the Afghan constitution and other achievements”, Mr Farasoo told SBS Dari.
“Let me make it clear that Afghans all want to have peace, there is no doubt, but the general frustration of war and Ashraf Ghani’s mistakes should not shove everyone toward unrealistic expectations or give us false hope”, he said.
Mr Farasoo also said that the peace settlement is complicated and requires detailed discussions about governance, human rights, women rights, the justice system, foreign policy and durability of the peace itself.
He said it is clear that the recent talks with Taliban have caused great concerns about Afghan democracy and the new democratic values among Afghan youth and women.
“The Taliban, and their regional allies should realize that today’s Afghanistan is not what we had in the 1990s and 2001, today’s Afghanistan is a different country”.
Social media critical
The poster says “damn spies who want Afghan army and regime destroyed” Source: AAP
Afghan social media users were highly critical of the meeting saying politicians give too much to Taliban.
Yasin Rasouli, a former Afghan diplomat said Afghan leaders gave concessions to the Taliban that will need another two decades fight to take them back.
Their generous offers such as forming an interim government, delaying the election and the need for political participation of the Taliban ‘with dignity’ was more than the insurgents expected, he wrote on Facebook.
“And, Hamed Karzai did such a praying behind Taliban’s Imam that multiplied his 13 years government’s legitimacy by zero”.
‘They handed Afghanistan to the Taliban’
“What happened today wasn’t an ‘intra-Afghan’ discussion, consultation and seminar. They handed Afghanistan to the Taliban today”, Mr Rasouli wrote.
“It was close to the ‘Islamic Emirate’ to be officially announced in the Moscow’s President Hotel”.
The Taliban says it will continue to fight until the US and other foreign forces have completely withdrawn.
The insurgents agreed to respect women’s right only within the “Islamic Sharia framework”.
