The 15-member committee that the Afghanistan government recently constituted to deal with the Taliban represents the red lines, the hard-earned and much-cherished rights and aspirations of a new Afghanistan, noted Taher Qadiry, Afghanistan's new charge d’affaires in New Delhi.
This committee, which will deal on behalf of the government of Afghanistan, has representation from every segment of Afghan society—politics, civil society, activists, minorities and women, he said.
“We've had many attempts at talks, with the assistance of other nations, which we welcome, as well as by people in their personal capacities. But this is the committee that will cut the deal with the Taliban, if a deal does happen,” the diplomat said at a media interaction at the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia in New Delhi.
Qadiry said Afghanistan had changed dramatically since the fall of the Taliban regime. He said present-day Afghans cherished their democracy. The post-Taliban generation was one that was clued into social media. They had women workers, even in the media. In fact, there are nearly a hundred television channels in Afghanistan right now.
“Twenty-seven per cent of the [Afghanistan] Parliament is made of women parliamentarians, a figure higher than India (14 per cent) and even the US,” Qadiry said. The young generation likes to hang out in places like the popular cafe Slice in Kabul, where men and women can interact socially.
“We have changed. Has the Taliban changed? Because young Afghanistan has drawn its red lines—it will not compromise on freedom of expression, human rights and women's rights. These need to be preserved,” Qadiry emphasised.
He mentioned that even in previous interactions, the youth of Afghanistan had conveyed to the Taliban that it was a new country, and that the Taliban would have to change, too.
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The committee has just been set up and there is not date fixed on when it will meet with the Taliban. But Qadiry made it clear that this committee was the official one, representing the government. “We hope that it will be a good deal,” he said.
There are numerous talks going on on Afghanistan. The US is talking to the Taliban in Doha. The seventh round is ongoing. Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghanistan-born American, is the US special envoy for Afghanistan. The Moscow Format is another initiative, this one by Russia; both India and Afghanistan had sent non-official representatives to attend the first round last year. In the second round, India was not represented.
