A first road map to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan

The document agreed in the Doha talks proposes that the Afghanistan of the future be governed by an Islamic legal system and guarantee the equality of all its ethnic groups. It raises the protection of women's rights, although "within an Islamic framework of Islamic values".

Afghanistan walks hesitantly towards peace the year its war becomes adult. Qatar has closed on Tuesday a congress that, defying the expectations of the most doomsayers, who were the majority, has managed to reach an agreement to end 18 years of conflict with the Taliban. The document, which serves as a starting point for an upcoming 'hard' negotiation between the extremist organization, the Afghan government and the US, guarantees rights for women, albeit in a religious framework.

'Success' is a word hardly associated with a war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. But, gathered at a table in Doha, a delegation of about 60 representatives of Afghan civil society, including women, and 17 Taliban leaders , have succeeded. "It was a successful conference", says Tolo News Habiba Sharabi, one of the participants in a pioneering dialogue, which comes after months of futile attempts .

"Many differences have become evident during these two days [of meeting], at the same time that common ground was recognized, and these points will provide a basis for more [direct] talks and confidence between the Taliban and the Government to end the war, "says Nadery Nadery, another member of the Afghan committee. One of the obstacles to Afghan peace has been, until today, the Taliban's refusal to sit down with the Executive , considering it to be a US puppet.

In a joint statement issued on Monday night, forum members expressed their "commitment to respect and protect the dignity of the people, their lives and property, and to minimize civilian casualties to zero."

BOMB IN GHAZNI

But the reality shows that, if there is a way to peace, we will still have to start a lot of weeds to discover it. Just two days ago, a bomb detonated by the Taliban in the center of the city of Ghazni killed 14 people and injured dozens of children. On Tuesday, an air strike, which local leaders blame on the US, killed six children and an adult in the northern province of Baghlan.

Besides, the document proposes that the Afghanistan of the future be governed by an Islamic legal system and guarantee the equality of all its ethnic groups. It raises the protection of women's rights "within an Islamic framework of Islamic values". A vague definition for those who fear that a peace resolution that returns part of the power to the Taliban rigorists will translate into fewer rights for them. The Taliban have timidly allowed their girls to go to school on their fiefdoms .

ELECTORAL PROMISE

For that reason, in spite of the promising declarations of the envoys that several western countries have sent to Qatar - Germany was one of the impellers of the appointment -, the doubts persist between those who have seen closely the bloody conflict. They worry about the rush with which Washington seems to want to find a way out. A need that seems to respond to the desire of President Donald Trump to fulfill the electoral promise to get his troops out of the region. At what price? Many fear that the return of the Taliban to the site from which they were expelled after the invasion of 2001. Return to the starting point.

The Doha dialogue runs parallel to the Taliban talks held in Russia with former members of the Afghan government, sponsored by the Kremlin, and those who sit at the same table with the Radicals White House envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad.

WITHDRAWAL OF FOREIGN TROOPS

From this Tuesday, just after the congress, will take place, in the same city, the eighth meeting between the two. Khalilzad, who has been satisfied with the outcome of the dialogue between Afghans, has said that he expects tangible agreements to start in September .

The basis of the agreement between the Americans and the Taliban, it has been reported, is the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in exchange for the Taliban guaranteeing that groups such as Al Qaeda or the Islamic State do not reuse their country as a base of operations. That is, the Taliban avoid another hypothetical 11-S . Although the consensus reached in the last hours is encouraging, there is still no date to negotiate the details. Peace seems to be visible, but it could well be a mirage or the beginning of another nightmare.