Afghanistan: From US Occupation Towards Transition

Abstract

This research work is an effort to analyze the Afghanistan peace process from a transition perspective. According to Aljazeera," after 18 months of talks and nearly 20 years of war, the Taliban and the United States of America have signed an agreement aimed at paving the way for peace in Afghanistan and the departure of foreign troops" Intra-Afghan negotiations followed the US-Taliban peace agreement after fulfilling the pre-conditions by both Taliban and the Afghan government. Previously, U.S. denied direct negotiations with the Taliban but in 2017 Trump Administration revised its Afghan policy and started direct negotiations with the Taliban. Similarly, the Taliban was not ready to negotiate with the U.S. until the full withdrawal of foreign forces. In the same fashion, Talibanwasn't ready to sit at the same table with a " puppe" government. If successful, the said process will initiate the transition from where Afghanistan either could transform itself or the history of the 1990s could repeat itself. Afghanistan has witnessed a transition in the 90s, which was featured by a destructive civil war.

Similarly, after 19 years of US-NATO intervention and war against the so-called terrorism in Afghanistan, the country is at the crossroad of its history once again. The paper argues that agreements are easy to conclude, but it is hard to live up to agreed rules and bargains. Therefore, Afghanistan could emerge as a regional connector in the changing regional geostrategic realities or a troubled and ungoverned country. In a nutshell, this research tries to answer how the currently expected transition could be different from the past? And that how a possible tug of war between and among various ethnic groups and factions be avoided? Furthermore, the importance of Afghanistan in changing regional and global dynamics is also multifaceted. This research work will try to answer these questions in detail.