News Analysis: Afghans have high hopes for peace efforts despite Taliban's obstinance

Despite the Taliban's inflexibility regarding the peace process, the war-weary Afghans are looking with optimism toward the efforts by the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) to bring the militant group back to the negotiating table with the Afghan government so as to end the protracted conflict.

The QCG, comprising Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States, met on Feb. 23 for its fourth session here in Kabul and announced that direct talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government might take place in the first week of March.

Although the Taliban group rejected the offer in a statement on Saturday which said that the peace efforts were a meaningless practice, Afghans from all walks of life are hopeful that the peace efforts, backed by the international community, would gradually begin to bear fruit.

Afghan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in his address at the joint session of parliament on Sunday called for the Taliban to give up fighting and join the peace process.

The president also noted that "bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan" would benefit all sides including the Taliban.

The ongoing peace efforts involving China and the U.S. have raised hopes among war-weary Afghans that the four-nation talks would eventually help Afghans to live in an atmosphere of lasting peace and stability in their country.

Earlier, Afghan ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal told local media optimistically that face-to-face talks between the Taliban group and the Afghan government would take place in mid-March.

He also noted that Islamabad has pledged to facilitate the organizing of a joint conference of influential Ulema, or religious scholars, of both Afghanistan and Pakistan, in order to issue a Fatwa, or religious decree, to denounce the ongoing militancy in Afghanistan as being un-Islamic.

Looking hopefully at the latest developments, Afghan political watchers believe that the steadfast attitude of the United States and China to deliver peace will bolster the overall multilateral efforts in this regard.

The ongoing militancy and terrorism in Afghanistan, according to Afghan political analysts, continues to threaten the entire region, including Pakistan, the United States and the world at large.

"Terrorism poses a threat to the whole region and to all countries including Pakistan and the United States, therefore, supporting the Afghan peace process will help to contain militancy and stabilize security in Afghanistan and the region," political and military analyst General (Ret.) Atiqullah Omarkhil told Xinhua.

Although the Taliban outfit has rejected the offer for peace talks with the Afghan government, political observers with regards to the prospect of increasing fragmentation among various factions of the Taliban militants, believe that part of the Taliban, if not all, would ultimately join the peace process.

"The ongoing peace efforts will gradually and finally pave the way for direct talks between the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan," a political observer and former Taliban official, Mohammad Hassan Haqyar, told local media recently. Enditem