‘Peace is the highest desire,’ says Afghan ambassador to US

Roya Rahmani: The fact that peace is the highest desire of all Afghan people here is no doubt. It is something that we have wanted and we are in complete support of it. We want and appreciate all the efforts made towards the peace process. For us, what’s important is that these negotiations will result in a durable, sustainable and acceptable peace for all.

That’s a good question because peace negotiations are always very complicated and also very delicate. What we need to continue to remember as we are moving forward with these negotiations is what each side’s objectives are and why. If the Taliban are insisting on the withdrawal of the foreign troops, what is it that they are really after?

Well, I do not because as you know, up to now, there hasn’t been direct talks between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban. I believe that that is absolutely essential for this deal to succeed. If there should be a deal, it has to be based on the talks between the elected representative or legitimate representative of the Afghan people and the other side and that hasn’t taken place yet.

Well, based on their reports and their public statements, they say that they want a full withdrawal of the foreign troops. Now, not necessarily as an official but as a citizen, when I am looking back at Afghanistan, I think about how the presence of foreign troops are basically there to assist and support our security forces and fight against terrorism. That is an issue that is not only coming from Taliban but also from many other groups. I do not still know how they are going to manage that terror, that threat that is emanating from international terrorism not only towards Afghanistan but towards the world, should there be no presence of the foreign troops in support of the Afghan security forces.

Of course, President Trump has been very vocal about his desire not wanting American troops to continue the fight in Afghanistan. He has always been saying that However, he has always also said that he recognizes the necessity that the troops should remain. Whether I am concerned about the trend of terrorism and Afghanistan becoming a breeding ground for terrorist activities or extremist ideologies should not only be my concern. It should be the concern that everybody should have. Of course, we are again at the forefront. We would be the first people who would continue to suffer but if we are talking about international terrorism, everybody should be concerned about that.

The Afghan government for the first time really opened the door for talks. We offer them conditional talks. We have been very open in terms of what we would need to do to provide an avenue for the negotiations. What is most important is the part that the government does and should do, which is representing the people of Afghanistan. This is what they do. How are doing it? We organized a peace jirga (tribal council) last April. It was because we wanted to bring people on board for a peace process. We wanted to ensure that we will have a roadmap or a framework for how to move forward with the talks. We wanted to bring people on board and get their collective vision for peace. Other than that, you can not write a prescription for peace and hand it out to Afghans. That will not help. That’s very simple, unfortunately. It’s not that we are advocating for that. The problem is that reality has proven that that will not work. In the past 40 years, you look at how many of these deals and prescriptions we have had. It’s not once or twice that they have not only failed, but have cost everybody so much money and effort to bring it back. Because of that, the government wants to ensure that whatever deal we are moving forward is backed by the collective vision of the Afghan people.

When the Taliban were in power, we were living in exile in Pakistan because we were forced out prior to that due to the infighting in 1993. However, I did visit. I was a young woman then and, to be honest, that was one of the worst experiences in my life. I found my city, Kabul, where I was born, a ghost city. There was no hope. Women were not able to go to school, work or travel. Nothing.

The guarantee is the political system that we have established. The republic system is the system that the Afghan people have demonstrated their unbeatable resolve to. The Afghan people are those that, under the harshest circumstances, have gone out to the polls to vote and to elect their representatives. This is the guarantee. There is one important point not to forget — and we are hoping that this point is also shared by the Taliban — that is, let’s find a way to live together. To respect one another. To have a dignified life as a united Afghanistan. We are the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and we would like to remain the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

I cannot speak for President Trump, but based on the assurances that I have always received from the White House, is that President Trump wants a good deal and a good deal is a deal one that Afghanistan will not fall back on. The gains of the past 15 years will not roll back. Afghanistan will not be a threat to United States and the rest of our allies. Afghanistan will not be a threat to the rest of the world because Afghanistan is not going to go back under an oppressive regime that provides a breeding ground for extremist ideology.