The Conservative Friends of Afghanistan (CFA) held an online discussion titled the "Biden and Afghanistan Peace Process" to assess what the future of the peace talks look like under a Biden administration and whether a basic goal during the delicate transitional period of keeping the peace process alive is so challenging.
Peace negotiations between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban commenced in Doha, Qatar, on 12 September, after more than six months of delay amid political dysfunction in Kabul and continued conflict. The talks have now stalled again in their opening rounds, as all parties wait for the incoming Biden administration to reveal what changes it might make to U.S. Afghanistan policy, particularly vis-à-vis the peace process and the U.S. military presence. With the the failed Trump administration, the incoming Biden administration’s approach to the peace process uncertain, Taliban violence on the rise, and the Afghan government struggling to manage multi-dimensional security and political challenges, it is far from clear where negotiations are headed.
Speakers:
Fatima Gailani , Member of Peace Negotiation Team for intra-Afghan talks.
Shabnam Nasimi, Executive Director of Conservative Friends of Afghanistan
Husain Haqqani, Former Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
Andrew Wilder, Vice President, Asia Program at USIP
Kate Clark, Co-Director of Afghanistan Analyst Network (moderator)
Ambassador Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan Ambassador to the United States
Dr. Omar Zakhilwal, Former Afghanistan Ambassador to Pakistan
