Afghan peace process to shun Taliban with links to al-Qaeda

An International Conference opened here today with Afghan president Hamid Karzai seeking help to move towards self-governance as the meeting backed his efforts to involve elements in Taliban but said any amnesty should only be extended to those who had no links to global terrorist groups like al-Qaeda, a stance supported by India.

The biggest ever conference on Afghanistan bringing delegates from 70 nations to chalk out the future of the war-torn country began amidst a total lock-down of the Afghan capital and is considering a plan to hand over security in the country's 34 provinces to the Afghan government by 2014.

Flanked by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Karzai sporting a peaked fur hat said Afghanistan and its international allies shared a "vicious common enemy" and triumph over these enemies would come by handing over responsibilities to Afghans to combat the insurgency within the country's border.

Backing the move to hand over responsibility to the elected Afghan government, Clinton said that the US planned to accelerate the process of handing over security to Afghan military and police.

Acknowledging the deepening opposition to international involvement in the conflict, Clinton said, "the July 2011 date captures both our sense of urgency and strength of our resolve."

"The transition process is too important to push off indefinitely. But this date is the start of the new process and not the end of our involvement," she said.

Speaking at the conference external affairs minister SM Krishna said,"the international community must learn lessons from past experiences at negotiating with fundamentalists and extremist organisations and ensure that any peace process is conducted in and inclusive and transparent manner."

"India supports Afghanistan's efforts towards peace and reintegration. But for such an effort to succeed, it must be fully Afghan-led and carry all sections of country's population together as well as abide by the red lines agreed at the London conference like giving up violence, cutting of all links with terrorism - whether jihadi or state-sponsored - and accepting the democratic and pluralistic value of the Afghan constitution, including women's rights," he said.

A draft communique up for adoption by the conference and seen by PTI says "The Afghan government's Peace and Reintegration Programme is open to all Afghan members of the armed opposition and their communities, who renounce violence, have no link to international terrorist organisations, respect the constitution and are willing to join in building a peaceful Afghanistan."

The international community reiterated its commitment to continue to support peace and reintegration and said it looks forward to local peace jirgas that includes men and women at district and provincial level to discuss elements of an enduring peace.

The government of Afghanistan is to engage with the UN security council and the international community for delisting Taliban elements from the sanctions list in accordance with agreed procedures and common Afghan and international responsibility.

As requested by the people of Afghanistan at the consultative peace jirga, the government of Afghanistan stands committed to reduce the number of people arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.

The international community expressed its support for Karzai's objective that the Afghan national security forces should lead and conduct military operations in all the provinces by the end of 2014.

As the conference unfolded, a major security operation shut down most of the Kabul with police manning check post throughout the city and blocked off major intersection. 

The Afghan intelligence agency arrested a number of insurgents who were holed up in a house and apparently preparing to strike.

On the issue of security, the meeting recognised that civilian casualty and protection of civilians are of great concern and noted that most civilian casualties are caused by insurgent attacks.

They also reiterated that the international military forces remain committed to the objective of a steady reduction in the rate of civilian casualties. 

The meeting also committed to provide necessary support to increase security and to continue support in training, equipping and providing finance to Afghan national security force.

The Kabul conference is taking place at a time when the Karzai government is working on a Peace and Reconciliation scheme aimed at bringing Taliban elements into the mainstream.

Under the scheme, foot soldiers or low and middle-level fighters of Taliban are to be attracted with promises of jobs, vocational training and education. 

India does not see anything wrong if individual Taliban cadres are rehabilitated after they give up violence, end physical and ideological links with terror, vow to abide by the Afghan Constitution and commit to respect human rights, including women's rights.