Nirupama Subramanian  

Amrullah Saleh, a former chief of the Afghan intelligence service National Directorate of Security, tells The Indian Express "the key is for the Taliban to realise they can't subdue a nation by guns and bombs provided by the Pakistani ISI and the army"

Nirupama Subramanian

Hours before the deal reached between the United States and the Taliban for withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan collapsed, Amrullah Saleh, vice-presidential candidate and running mate of President Ashraf Ghani in the uncertain September 28 presidential election, had told Nirupama Subramanian

that the (then imminent) deal was “not a deal for or of the Afghans”.

Saleh, a former chief of the Afghan intelligence service National Directorate of Security, had said in an email interview (conducted before President Donald Trump called off the peace talks with the Taliban) that “the key is for the Taliban to realise they can’t subdue a nation by guns and bombs provided by the Pakistani ISI and the army”

So much of our society faces the risk of terrorism. I am not seeing myself as an exception. I share the sense of pain and the quest for security of our people. After the attack, I refused to get extra measures, and I am trying what I can to help in order to improve the situation for all Afghans and not just for VIPs.

The Americans are still negotiating a deal with the Taliban. It isn’t finished yet. Their deal will have an impact here but it will be their deal and not the deal for or of the Afghans. We will pursue our national interest. The preservation of the republic, the people-centric legitimacy power, and the centrality of the constitution in all of this, are our core aims over which we won’t compromise. We won’t

This is the first insurgency in human history which wants to reject the voice of the people and wants something exclusive for itself. They are worse than even Khmer Rouge. Having the ability to inflict pain and violence is not necessarily a sign of strength. Their violence is not backed by any political manifest. They have no charismatic leaders. All their politbureau are based in Pakistan and are not showing their faces. They can’t face the reality of new Afghanistan which is no longer buying the notion of armed struggle to solve political issues. Without Pakistan’s support, the Taliban would fade away in six months.

We are not yet into the stage of the intra-Afghan negotiations. So I can’t speculate on ceasefire. It may happen or may not happen

They want to silence the civil society, they want to break the will of the society at large by unleashing blind violence. They have misread the Afghan psyche. The Afghan psyche surrenders to softness, surrenders to surrendering, but never bows to pressure. It has never done To bow to Pakistani pressure and agree to an unequal agreement and give part of our sovereignty to GHQ Rawalpindi won’t happen. It won’t. Peace is a must. We all need it. We all need it under the umbrella of the Republic.

Our message to Pakistan is also very clear. You can have us as best friends through legitimate State to State relations. Making us docile through violence won’t work. It hasn’t so far. I am also puzzled why Pakistan is experimenting with something on Afghanistan which hasn’t worked for any power. Perhaps the answer is within Pakistan. It is an insecure State which seeks security by sheer violence as it lacks other means to project its interest or vision

I haven’t seen the text and I also don’t know what mechanisms are agreed upon to de-link the Taliban with its roots. Taliban are born of the same ideology of terror as Daesh and al-Qaeda. How can they separate themselves? I don’t know

Also, on the question of whether a de-linked Taliban will remain an entity or will melt down: It all depends on the type of mechanism and verification methods that the US must have worked out with them. We don’t Know.

Courtesy : Indian express: 11th Sep. 2019