Editorial: Afghanistan peace talks a fragile thing

Security forces gather following a deadly attack, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Photo / AP

COMMENT

It has been a long time since Afghanistan, a country whose history is marked by invasions, occupations, rebellions and revolutions, has known anything resembling peace.

It is almost 40 years since the Soviet invasion of the country and almost 30 years since the last Soviet troops left. Since then, there has been civil war, years of brutal Taliban rule, a US-led war and occupation, and an ongoing and at times expanding insurgency.

Reports at the weekend that the Taliban has held a preliminary discussion with a US official about future peace talks could be seen as reason for hope. But hope is a fragile force in a country crippled economically by years of conflict and where suicide attacks are still a regular occurrence.

It was only a matter of weeks ago that unprecedented scenes of Taliban fighters and Afghan armed forces celebrating Eid together ended in slaughter when an Isis (Islamic State) car-bomb attack in the eastern province of Nangarhar left dozens dead.

The Taliban had announced a three-day ceasefire that overlapped with a government ceasefire, and militants and soldiers celebrated the end of Ramadan together in cities across the country in scenes that would normally be unthinkable.

Isis is also believed to have been behind a deadly attack at the weekend on a training centre for midwives in the same province.

The presence of Isis fighters, who have launched a string of deadly attacks this year and appear hell-bent on making their mark in the land of the Mujahideen, has complicated the landscape.

The Taliban, however, is still the major militant force in Afghanistan. Having emerged in 1994 in the Afghan Civil War and having ruled the country under its strict interpretation of Islam from 1996 until 2001, it has woven itself into the nation's bloody fabric. It is believed to control between 10 and 12 per cent of the population and to enjoy support among some rural communities.

The Taliban has also cashed in on record opium production; the US believes the Taliban controls the drug trade in the country, which is the world's main source of heroin. And while the US has reduced its footprint on the ground it has expanded its air campaign against drug labs in a bid to stem the flow of the group's drug revenue.

US Major-General James Hecker said in June after US and Afghan forces conducted airstrikes on what he claimed were 11 Taliban drug production facilities in western Afghanistan that "by cutting off the Taliban's economic lifelines, we also reduce their ability to continue these terrorist activities".

The Taliban has long demanded direct talks with the US while calling for a complete withdrawal of US troops. Washington, though, has insisted on the involvement of the Afghan Government in any negotiations.

The meeting in Qatar last week between Taliban officials and Alice Wells, the top US diplomat for South Asia, suggests the US is ready to try a new tack. But wars that drag on often become more complicated with time. Last week's talks were an important step but peace is still a long way off.