Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that the Taliban and their opponents are all Afghans and should bring an end to the ongoing conflict through dialogue, mutual understanding, and cooperation.
Karzai made the remarks in an interview with Bloomberg. He said he remains in contact and dialogue with some Taliban leaders and believes that, in order to address Afghanistan’s current challenges, all Afghans, including the Taliban, must reach a common solution.
Karzai described the exclusion of the Taliban from the Bonn Conference at the end of 2001 as a mistake, saying that the Taliban should have been included in the process because Afghanistan’s future should have been shaped through dialogue and cooperation among Afghans.
Regarding the 20-year presence of the United States and NATO in Afghanistan, he said that, on the one hand, international aid, reconstruction efforts, and economic support had a positive impact on the lives of Afghans. On the other hand, however, military operations, the bombing of villages, and raids on people’s homes were strongly opposed by him.
On the Taliban’s current government, Karzai said that the Taliban are, in practice, the governing authority in Afghanistan and that countries should engage with them in order to deliver humanitarian assistance. At the same time, he stressed that the Taliban’s international legitimacy should be linked to the rights of girls to education and women to work.
Karzai said he is in talks with some Taliban leaders about girls’ education and women’s employment. According to him, some Taliban leaders support restoring these rights, but he does not know whether they have sufficient authority and influence to bring about change in this area.
Regarding his daughter’s education, Karzai said he does not want to send her abroad to study. As an Afghan citizen, he said his goal is to help create conditions in which girls can pursue their education in their own country.
Karzai also said that he does not want to hold any official position in the Afghan government again. He said that his time in office has passed and that he has done everything he could for the country.
He described the expansion of education for Afghan boys and girls, the reconstruction of the country, and the creation of a sense of national unity and solidarity among Afghans as the greatest achievements of his government.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
