The Afghan President Hamid Karzai has extended an olive branch to country’s Taliban fighters. Just before Afghanistan goes to polls on August 20th, Karzai offered amnesty to those who decided to lay down their arms.

In an interview to the AP news agency, Karzai said: "If they don’t adhere to violence anymore and if they repent and regret and announce that publicly, then for the sake of peace and for the sake of retaining complete peace to the country and a normal life, I would be very much willing to talk to them."

The offer comes at a time when a local truce was reached between the government and the Taliban with the mediation of local elders in the north-western Badghis province. With this offer, Karzai is trying to woo the country’s biggest ethnic group of Pashtuns, who also hold high ranks within the Afghan Taliban.

Challenging task

Experts believe it would be a tough task for the president to get the Taliban to lay down their arms. Political Analyst from Kabul University Wadir Safi says that the Government will have to fulfil several of Taliban conditions. "One of the conditions is the release of all the Taliban prisoners from Gunatanamo and from Bagram air base, the second step would be a complete ceasefire, and the third step will be taking of Taliban leaders from the international blacklists."

Safi added that once the Taliban lay down their arms, the Afghan government would have to do more to ensure that they don’t return to their old ways. "The next step will be determining the date of withdrawal of the foreign troops as desired by President Obama,” he said. “If the Taliban lay down their arms then there is no need for the foreign soldiers to remain here."

World leaders support talks

Karzai’s approach has been subscribed to, by the foreign leaders. In a speech at the NATO headquarters, the UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband also talked about involving the moderate Taliban in peace talks. "We will not force the Taliban to surrender just through force of arms and overwhelming might, nor will we convert them to our point of view through force of argument and ideological conviction."

US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton have also spoken on similar lines in some of their policy speeches. It is now for the Afghan government to wait and watch how Taliban reacts to its open offer.

Author: Pukhraj Choudhary
Editor: Disha Uppal