Global challenges demand global attention, but the picture of war-torn country Afghanistan depicts another story of selfishness and power struggle. Even the pandemic could not provide an interlude between the warring parties.

Irrespective of the halted intra-afghan talks, Washington is stick to its plan of withdrawal. As per the agreement at Doha in February, by this summer USA troops are reduced to near 8500. Some reports suggest that some military bases have also been evacuated by the troops.

Prisoner swap:

According to the peace agreement, both parties (the government and the Taliban) decided to release a specific number of prisoners in their custody – 5000 held by Kabul and 1000 held by Taliban’s, they were to be released some six to seven weeks ago, but this did not happen. USA argued to show some flexibility on the matter of prisoner swaps, the crucial obstacle between intra-afghan talks.

There are some disagreements about the terms of release of the prisoners by the both parties. Taliban say that without fulfilling the agreement of prisoner’s release, the intra-afghan talks couldn’t happen. 550 prisoners have been released by the Afghan government and 112 by the Taliban. Due to Covid-19 the Taliban demanded immediate release of the remaining detainees. They said that without releasing all the prisoners as per the agreement the intra-afghan talk will never happen.

Violence and peace talks will never come at the same time. On one hand Taliban are entering to the deal and on the other they are continuously hitting the rival forces quite hard. President Ashraf Ghani insists on the reduction of violence by the Taliban. He says that he is willing to free some 1500 prisoners but in a gradual way. He is claiming his political leverage at this point. USA is trying to overcome this by engaging high officials of the different states.

With the rising violence in the war-torn country, the purpose of confabulating with Islamabad was to seek Pakistan’s help with regard to the reduction in violence, as Pakistan claims this as a political solution not a military one. Khan’s government since coming to the power is claiming that Afghan government should not neglect the presence of Taliban as they hold the lion’s share of the country. The solution to this process shall deal with the negotiation and not with the “Kalashnikov”. Taliban are trying to mount pressure on the government by indulging in attacks on ANSF –Afghan national security forces – and calling off cease fire in Ramzan, all this adding fuss to the peace deal.

Besides the issue of prisoner swap, the other main impediment between the parties is the tussle between the president Ghani and the Dr Abdullah Abdullah that will also pall over the process. America and EU have also warned of future funding, if this tussle for power will never end.

Trump’s interest:

Why US want to speed up the process? Well, achingly, president Trump wants

to end its long involvement in a war that not only cost in blood but also to its glory and bread. Similarly, the present year is also the elections year in the USA, bringing back troops to the home will surely show a positive side of the Trump to their people as they often chant “Americas First” while addressing. This disastrous situation in Afghanistan always possess threat to its neighbors, especially Pakistan having porous border with it. The huge cross-border movement between them always added fuel to the fire. In the end, one thing that Pakistan should always remember that “Pakistan should not act as a party to this deal but as a facilitator to the peace deal”