Mani Shankar Aiyar, Yashwant Sinha & co form 'Friends of Afghanistan'; want Taliban talks

Friends of Afghanistan- a few intellectuals, former bureaucrats, and politicians on Wednesday issued an appeal to the Taliban, the Indian government, and the international community for peace, national reconciliation; and also national reconstruction in the war-torn country. The appeal comes few weeks after the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan by surrounding the capital city-Kabul from all sides, forcing the incumbent government to give in to the demand for a 'peaceful transfer' of power. 

'Friends of Afghanistan' make an appeal 

Pointing out that they welcome the decision of the United States to withdraw from Afghanistan, the groups of intellectuals, former bureaucrats and politicians stated that it, however, was executed in 'an unplanned way' which created conditions of avoidable chaos. "The chaotic circumstances emboldened certain terrorist groups to kill innocent Afghans and foreigners. We strongly condemn the barbaric suicide attacks in Kabul on August 23, in which scores of Afghans and over a dozen American soldiers lost their lives." the group stated in the joint statement. 

The appeal has undersigned former union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Natwar Singh and Mani Shankar Aiyar, former bureaucrats K.C. Singh and Najeeb Jung, former IPS officer Julio Rebeiro, writers Vedpratap Vaidik and Saeed Naqvi, lawyer Majeed Memon, activist Sandeep Pandey and founder of Forum for a New South Asia Sudheendra Kulkarni.

Appeal to Taliban

The group, underlining that Afghanistan has been grappling with war and violence for the past four decades, appealed to the Taliban to begin an intra-Afghan peace process leading to a democratic governing establishment. After the establishment, the group appealed to the terrorist group to guarantee the safety and security of every Afghan citizen regardless of their gender, ethnicity, ideology, or past political background. It appealed to the Taliban to ensure that no terrorist organization has a 'sanctuary' in Afghanistan, and that its territory is not used for terrorist and extremist activities targeting any country in the world, near or far.

Additionally, it appealed to the terrorist group 'to continues the developmental projects undertaken by India in Afghanistan'.

Appeal to Indian government

In its appeal to the Indian government, Friends of Afghanistan called for continued engagement with the Taliban. "We welcome the government’s first official acknowledgment of its engagement with the Taliban in Doha and the positive assurances given by the latter," the group stated and moved on to its other concern of accomodating those fleeing the country. "There should be no discrimination on grounds of religion in providing shelter to Afghans," the intellectuals, former bureaucrats, and politicians added, giving a special mention to Afghan journalists, artists, and civil society leaders who are feeling threatened by the conditions in their country.

Appeal to international community

As for the international community, the group put forth the appeal to allow no country in the region to be excluded from, nor isolate itself from, collaborative efforts to bring peace in Afghanistan and promote national reconciliation and national reconstruction. “This requires India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Iran, and other countries to evolve and implement a common strategy, in cooperation with the United Nations, USA, EU and other members of the international community,” the group stated. The intellectuals, former bureaucrats, and politicians in the statement also pushed the Multilateral regional forums such as SCO (in which both India and Pakistan are members) and SAARC (of which Afghanistan is also a member) to actively participate in the peace process.