Ghani govt was not interested in reconciliation process

Afghanistan’s Peaceful Transition Foundation (APTF) head Dr. FarooqAzam has said the previous government was not honest in its reconciliation process and that led to its collapse, adding that building a new system would take time.

He added with the departure of former President Ashraf Ghani, fighting has ended and now qualified people should be appointed on key posts. He lambasted the international community for stressing inclusion of previous corrupt individuals in the government in the name of inclusive government.

Ex-govt structure and fall

During an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, Dr. FarooqAzam said the previous government was formed by foreigners and came into power soon after the US invasion of Afghanistan. That government was never for the people of Afghanistan.

“President Bush said they will reconstruct Afghanistan through a master plan, but current US president Joe Biden recently said they never came to Afghanistan for reconstruction and nation-building. Whatever support they provided has ended after their withdrawal such as they provided millions of dollars for election but every election was shameful then the other one. You would have never watched in the world that two presidents shall take oath at the same time and at the same place. US spent billions of dollars on good governance and army but it never empowered institutions,” he said.

Azam believed the Taliban did not much contribute to the collapse of the previous US backed government but people in the previous government themselves caused the destruction of the system.

He said: “Previous Afghan government officials said US will not pull out from Afghanistan, Obama and Trump, however, stressed over the withdrawal of their forces but the Afghan government was not pleased with this decision and they never had preparations. When US government finally decided they will pull out that decision hampered the morale of government and whatever cash was available there the government itself looted it. A system that could have fallen after two years fell just within few months.”

The formation of interim government was mentioned in the Doha Agreement but the Kabul regime was not ready for such arrangement because the system was so week here and there was heavy fighting underway nation-wide. He said Ghani might not intentionally leave the country but he was forced to do so.

He added sometimes an individual did not want to do something but something suddenly happens and it favours you. He said Ghani might not want to leave the country but that helped end the war.

He said the previous government was not honest in Doha talks, the delegation had no agenda for ceasefire therefore they lost the opportunity for peaceful transition and the current crisis is due that failure.

Restoring a collapsed government requires time

Dr. FarooqAzam said, “Since the system was collapsed instead of being transferred, it is difficult for any government, not only for the Taliban, to raise a fallen government. The world needs time with the Taliban and the Taliban need time with the world. The world has been saying for twenty years that the Taliban are the enemy and terrorists, but Taliban came to power unexpectedly, so now the world is obliged to deal with them…”

He said that Afghanistan has never stood on its own feet before and there was an artificial cover on the country’s economic crisis. The previous economy was 96 percent relied on foreign aid. “It means that foreigners were running the economy, so the problem created now is not due to the Taliban takeover, but if other people also come and the world do not help, the situation will not change”, he said.

He added that the Taliban need to understand the conditions of the country and the world, there are some things that have nothing to do with Islam, such as high schools in Afghanistan that have had girls since the time of Zahir Shah. The opening of high schools is not against Sharia and the Taliban should not stop it, he said.

The world wants to reinstate the “corrupt people of the past” under the pretext of inclusiveness

Pajhwok asked Azam that would the Taliban accept an inclusive government the world insists on, he said, “The issue is debatable. The government produced in Bonn Conference was not an inclusive one. They want to reinstate corrupt individuals of the previous administration under the excuse of inclusive government, it is not inclusive, it is a condition of the world for corruption. But I support presence of representatives from all ethnic groups.”

About reports of formation of a resistance front against the current caretaker government, he said that figures who were behind such fronts had been tested in the past as they did nothing despite having the help of the whole world.

These people were the “most corrupt” people, and if the world wanted them back and the government is handed over to them again, it will be oppression against the people, he said.

“These movements are aimed at putting pressure on the Taliban and these people are still being used as instruments,” Azam said.

Taliban should appoint people on merit or they will fail

Azam said that the Taliban should hand over responsibilities to qualified figures as people wanted services, not corrupt individuals. He said that if responsibilities handed over to the right people and people provided with services, it would lead to recognition of the Taliban in the society.

He says the Taliban should be given a chance to work and should be helped. “If they work, they will succeed or they will fail like others”, he said, hoping that the Taliban will learn from the past.

He hoped that the current caretaker government would not continue for long and that more positive changes would take place within the framework of the Islamic Emirate.

“I am cautiously optimistic about the Taliban because there is no other alternative. So when there is no alternative, they should not be affected. Hopefully, the situation will improve if responsibilities are handed over to the right people,” he said.

Government by the will of people

Azam said that he is in favor of a government formed by the will of the people.

He believes that in order to form such a government, IDPs and foreign refugees must first return to their homes, ID cards must be distributed to all, unlicensed weapons should be collected and a constitution that would define the future government should be drafted.

Taliban should find the roots of ISIS diplomatically and militarily

Azam said that ISIS, which has no outside support, cannot expand inside Afghanistan.

He said that if ISIS comes to Afghanistan, it would have supported by foreigners, but the Taliban should find out their roots, and should investigate the group diplomatically and militarily.

“If the Taliban do not comply with international demands, ISIS and some former government officials may become stronger in one name or another, and Afghanistan’s neighbors will suffer as well,” he said.

He added that it would be better for the Taliban and neighbors to have a single stance on such matters.

“I don’t think Iran and Pakistan will recognize Taliban anytime soon, because these countries had good relations with the previous government and the Taliban at the same time, but maybe Central Asian countries such as Russia, China and Turkey will recognize the Taliban soon,” he said.

He noted the current state of Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and the recent visit of Pakistani officials to Afghanistan, adding that Pakistan wanted to turn military ties with the Taliban into political and state-to-state relations.