The unidentified position of Qatar in the Intra-Afghan Peace Talks

As extensively reported, the first peace talks started between the government of Afghanistan and Taliban in Qatar weeks ago. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, for the first time in history, Afghan political leaders and the Taliban sat together to discuss their aims for a political settlement and peace in Afghanistan. To the government of Afghanistan and the Afghan people these talks are not only very important but a topic that is considered very emotional. The citizens of Afghanistan think and believe that this time there is no intervention between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban since they are having a direct conversation with each other. However the recent event that have been happening in Afghanistan and the response of countries like Qatar, who is facilitating these negotiations, portray a different image and decreases the hope that Afghan people had when the Peace Talks first started between the two parties.

Since these negotiations are being hosted and facilitated by the government of Qatar, it is important to talk about their role in the negotiations, which frankly is somewhat mysterious at this point. When the negotiations first started the government of Qatar stated that the main role of Qatar’s government is to “only host the negotiations in order to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan without any kind of interferences” - National Security Advisor Mohammad bin Ahmed al-Misnad. Emphasizing on the principle of impartiality of Qatar Government the National Security Advisor also said that “His government would not comment on the issues raised and would support the continuation of the process.” These statements however are in contradiction with the actions and other statements made by Qatar’s government recently.

On October 3^rd a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden mini truck in the country’s eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more. On October 4^th the Qatar government expressed their strong condemnation and denunciation regarding the explosion that happened in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan and left many dead and injured. In the statement that was issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, they repeatedly wrote about Qatar’s strong view on rejecting any kind of violence and terrorism regardless of their motives and causes. The statement also includes Qatar’s condolences to the families of the victims of this tragic event wishing them a quick recovery.

Now, isn’t this kind of a statement some form of interfering in the Peace Talks between Afghan Government and Taliban? Won’t it be considered as taking sides? Why is it so that the Qatar government is spending hundreds and thousands of dollars on facilitating the armed opposition for the Peace Talks with the Afghan Government and on the other hand condemning their attacks on the Afghan people? Is Qatar an ally of the Taliban or the Afghan Government? What is the exact role of Qatar in Peace Talks?

Many other similar questions are now crossing the minds of every Afghan and diminishing their trust and hope for the peace talks. It is a crucial time for both the government of Afghanistan and Afghanistan’s allies to give their one hundred percent to these talks and make sure everyone has a positive outcome and finally bring a long lasting peace to our country.