There is no military solution and the current mutually-hurting stalemate is unsustainable, Chairman of High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Abdullah, said on Wednesday.
Abdullah said there were a number of factors at play inside Afghanistan, in the region and with other global priorities like the pandemic or the upcoming American elections.
“We have no option but to aim for talks leading to a political settlement that can be owned and embraced by Afghans across the social and political spectrum,” Abdullah said speaking at a virtual forum organized by the US Institute of Peace.
Abdullah also said that there is no justification – religious or political – for “staggering loss of Afghan lives across the battlefields, in our villages, towns and cities, in the valleys, deserts and road checkpoints, or in our mosques and even hospitals.”
“We have brave men and women in uniform, and other fighters across the country, but the time has come to stop the bloodletting and let the population breathe,” Abdullah said.
He said that for an inclusive and comprehensive peace settlement, “we need to talk, listen, negotiate, compromise and come up with a common implementable and acceptable end-state that involves the different layers that represent all key sides, including women, youths and victims of war, and is not seen as a threat to any external powers.”
“We have a choice: Either to make this process easy and less painful for our people and others, or more complicated than it is… by dragging it and adding to the pain, loss of lives, poverty and cost,” Abdullah said. “It’s also an economic and security choice. We can reduce the costs while reducing the levels of violence, displacement/migration and managing the threat of terrorism and illicit activities or keep the fire burning and cope with the fallout of more war at a time when there is resource scarcity, a pandemic and other preoccupations on the global radar screen.”
Abdullah said that the Afghan peace is not – and it cannot be – a one-man or one faction endeavor. “It requires broad political will, engagement, consultation, coordination and action. The process will also need to go through phases, and each phase has its own give-and-take to facilitate transitions and forward mobility that can be verifiable and implementable.”
“Not everything rests in my hands even though it has been agreed that the HCNR is the vehicle through which we are going to bring all the elements together and define the policy lines for implementation,” Abdullah said. “Failing to do so will further weaken the hand of those who believe in an inclusive, united, pluralistic and value-based end-state. We need to be nimble by responsibly moving the process forward while we need to be focused and prepared to defend the values that matter the most to the plurality of our people.”
