Vested interests want war to continue in Afghanistan; India will be part of the peace process: Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar

The Afghanistan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar was in
New Delhi on March 22-23, 2021 in which he talked at length on various issue
his country is mired in.  Apart from expanding
bilateral relations, talks on peace process in Afghanistan could not have been
missed by both the FMs as the looming Turkey engagement between Afghanistan,
Taliban, US, Russia, China and Pakistan nears, that focuses on bringing just
and lasting peace to Afghanistan.

FM Atmar did not emphasize less that they are
negotiating with the Taliban of Afghanistan to make sure that Afghanistan does
not become a safe haven for international terrorism. ‘International terrorists are
keen to turn Afghanistan into not just their battle field against us but into a
safe haven for the rest of the world including India and our western partners. Our
strategy to secure the world against terrorism by exterminating Taliban from
region.’

Excerpts from
the interaction:

Q. With the
next round of talks for peace process between Taliban and Afghanistan in Turkey
what are your conditions for peace.

A. Peace with
them will be on the condition that firstly Afghanistan will remain  a sovereign, peaceful, unified and
independent country, its legitimacy will flow from the people and inclusive
government which will be committed to the rights of the people, it will remain
truly respectful of human rights and with a multi alignment policy it will
pursue cooperation with all our regional and international partners. Its not
simply an ideological conviction. It’s a necessary condition for a lasting
peace.

If any peace is to be lasting it will have to be built
on commitment, rights, women empowerment, freedom of speech, and those basic
values that are universal. Of course there are people out there who do not want
such peace because their interest is in continuation of bloodshed and violence.
In that attempt they are trying to kill the most innocent and defenceless
section of our population specially our journalists, civil society leaders and
civil servants. We will make sure that their sacrifice of the women killed does
not go in vein.

Q. What are the specific proposals made by the
Ghani government on the road map.

A. Our governments political leadership is reviewing
the ideals that have been put together in a proposal which is not a US
proposal. Afghanistan has always been looking at ways in which we could offer a
legitimate and at the same time a fully acceptable way to the Taliban. President
Ghani has offered that if the Taliban accepts a political settlement based on
the vision and is acceptable to Afghan people then he will agree to have
elections as a legitimate means of transfer of power, an early presidential
elections which means that he will not wait until the end of his term. The
elections will be administered and monitored by the international community, will
be transparent, free and fair. Any other thing contrary to this will be a
violation of our constitution. Now Taliban and some others may want to violate
the constitution but the way for it is as per the constitution of Afghanistan.

Q. What are the prospects of an Interim govt
setup.

A. An interim setup will be a departure from the
constitution and the people of Afghanistan would not want their future to be determined
by anybody but themselves. Who is selecting an interim arrangement, where do
they get legitimacy for that setup is not clear but what is definitely clear to
the people of Afghanistan is that they are the ones entrusted with the
responsibility to determine their future and to do this our constitution has
offered a legitimate pathway which is election. Therefore the President is proposing
that rather than exploring unconstitutional ways which may certainly unravel
the games of the past 20 yrs, he is making a political sacrifice for the
constitutionality of Afghanistan by offering early Presidential election.

Q. What is the role of India you are looking at,
other than development, defence etc.

A. India has legitimate interest in peace in Afghanistan
and so we are seeking a greater role for India in the process. We have already
said that a lasting peace in Afghanistan will be on the basis of national,
regional and international consensus. Our war has never been a civil war. Its
been a war from outside on Afghans using some Afghans and some foreign fighter.
India is part of the regional and international consensus building. Our number one
area of focus is to work together in building this consensus on peace building
process. Meeting in Turkey or UAE or any other regional or international
initiative, like the Heart of Asia, Istanbul Process, later this month in Dushanbe
which will be attended by  FM S Jaishankar,
will have the political role of India not just with Afghanistan but with our
regional and international partners. India will be part of the legitimate
peace process of Afghanistan.  That
is a necessary conditionality there.

Q. In the last 20 yrs Afghan women have come
forward with resilience in many areas. Taliban avoids sharing table with women.
How do you see this panning out.

 A.
I believe we cannot separate women’s rights, freedom and empowerment from the
rest of our society. If women are deprived of their basic rights and for the
progress that they have made especially over the past 2 decades that means that
we are reversing the progress of the entire civilization. So the peace that is
reversing those gains will be the beginning of another conflict. Their role is
expanding not just in service industry but also as politicians as lawmakers, as
administrators of judicial system, every aspect of life that benefits from
women participation should only be expanded.

Q. What came up during talks with FM S Jaishankar
particularly on Defence and economic cooperation.

A. We have a strategic partnership agreement. Within
that framework security cooperation is a legitimate area for both our
governments. All cooperation primarily for peace and economic cooperation as
well as regional connectivity are key topics that we discussed. Based on the
Strategic Partnership we do have commissions and committees working groups. The
immediate one is on vaccine cooperation, second is trade and transit including
Chabahar and third is regional connectivity that we are committed to. Connectivity
between Central Asia and South Asia is going to benefit entire Asia.

Q. How do you aim to achieve lasting peace. What
was discussed at the Moscow talks!

A. No lasting peace will be lasting unless we hold
discussion with the Taliban. At this moment we want them to come to the table
for negotiation. We are looking at specially victim centered approach to
justice. The victims of conflict over 40 yrs will have to be considered as the
key for not only a judicial process but also rehabilitation and reconciliation.
Our objective is to achieve benchmark for political stability.

Nothing was discussed with the Taliban in Moscow. They
were in no mood to discuss. They just delivered speeches that were not
necessarily pro peace to our disappointment. We hope they have a different behavior in the forthcoming meet.   

 Q. In the forthcoming peace talks between Afghans and
Taliban in Turkey, what do you expect to be the highlight of the talks after Doha
and Moscow.

A. There are three things to discuss with the Taliban
that we haven’t really had a chance to discuss given some of their extremely
unpredictable behavior over the coming months. First a permanent and
comprehensive ceasefire and an end to the bloodshed. Second a political
settlement consistent with the vision of Afghanistan acceptable to the people of Afghanistan and the key of that political settlement will be that both sides
agree to accept the free will of the Afghan people in elections. Third regional and
international guarantees for the peace agreement. The only progress in Doha had
been on the rules of procedure for the negotiation which will provide the
framework for these settlements.

Q. The falling number of minorities in Afghanistan
specially Hindus and Sikhs are a matter of concern for India . How will the
peace dialogue address this section of the minorities.

A. Hindus and Sikhs brothers and sisters are citizens
of Afghanistan. The violence against Afghans unfortunately did not spare our
minorities either so its not a kind of persecution against a particular
minority per se. Its a general violence against the entire nation. We thank India
for offering protection to our people at risk. For past centuries India has
been home to Afghans who felt at risk. We are working on this issue that it does
not become a kind of minority cleansing by terrorists or any body else.

Q. What do think is in for the Taliban to change
their mindset, accept the constitution, respect women and come to the table and
subsequently if they are in power they slowly chip away what the country has
achieved so far.

A. For almost two decades Taliban has been saying that
they are fighting for the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan. So we said
if this is what you are fighting for lets reach an agreement that when foreign
soldiers would leave we will also want you to make sure that the foreign
fighters also leave Afghanistan. That we agree on a political settlement. Now if
this is what they wanted this is what we offer through a legitimate process.
Second, continuation of war is not going to be a one way traffic of victimization.
Its going to affect them as well. And now as the world knows where they are and
where their leadership is they will have to be more cautious as to how they
address the peace and war issues. So if it is about an Islamic government the
government of Afghanistan will be ready to engage them at any level of Islamic
scholarly discussion. Presence of any muslim scholar from any part of the world
including the Deobandi Darool uloom, to see if there is anything wrong in Afghanistan
constitution from our muslim perspective, will be welcome. Something that we
will not accept is their version of certain Islamic concepts and tenets and not
necessarily shared by Afghans or the muslim world. They cannot impose it on us
neither the Afghan women nor men but we will be absolutely open to any debate or
dialogue with them on enhancing the rights of the people.

Another reason for this conflict is there are vested
interests. Not just political but there are economic reasons for the violence
to continue and this way we are offering Taliban an honorable way of making
peace.  

Q. Is Chabahar a game changer and how much
improvement has been in term of connectivity and development.

A. Chabahar is not just a game changer for Afghanistan
but for the region and central Asia. India and South Asia will benefit too. It
will be a key transit route as part of the greater north south transport route.
Chabahar is a key port. Iran is investing in a railway from Chabahar to the
border with Afghanistan. With this the vision of connectivity between Central
Asia and South Asia will be realized.

  Tags: #Afghanistan #India Afghanistan relations, #Taliban, #Terrorism in Afghanistan, #Ashraf Ghani government, #Foreign Minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar, #Haneef Atmar, #Haneef Atmar India visit, #Interview with Haneef Atmar

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