[The Washington Post obtained the eight-page proposal and verified its authenticity with two senior Afghan officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment on a sensitive policy proposal. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the document.]
The United States delivered the
document to the Taliban and Afghan government last week as
frustration grows in Washington over long-stalled talks between the two Afghan sides and
as violence rises across the country. It comes as the
Biden administration is conducting a review of U.S. Afghanistan policy and the
agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban, which calls for the full withdrawal
of U.S. troops by May 1 if the militants met specific conditions.
The Washington Post obtained the
eight-page proposal and verified its authenticity with two senior Afghan
officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment on a
sensitive policy proposal. The State Department did not immediately respond to
a request for comment on the document.
The years-long U.S. diplomatic
strategy behind the push to end the conflict in Afghanistan has
largely been shrouded in secrecy. Under the Trump administration, only a
four-page summary was released after the United States and the
Taliban reached a peace deal in February 2020.
In contrast, sections of the draft
peace agreement go into detail, especially in the suggested structure of
Afghanistan’s future government. In some instances, the number of people on
powerful councils and commissions is specified.
[U.S.
proposes interim power-sharing government with Taliban in Afghanistan]
Overall, the document calls for
Afghanistan’s current government to be replaced with temporary leaders, a new
constitution to be drafted and a cease-fire to be brokered. Within those
proposals are elements both sides have described as nonnegotiable, so the plan
is unlikely to be implemented in its current form.
Below are some of the most
important issues raised by the proposal.
Who will govern Afghanistan
One of the key stumbling blocks in
talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban is the militant group’s
claim that President Ashraf Ghani’s government is illegitimate — an issue that
is addressed in the latest U.S. peace proposal with the establishment of an
interim government.
After eking out a slim election victory for a second term,
Ghani has repeatedly refused to step down despite the Taliban’s unwillingness
to negotiate with him or his administration.
And while Ghani’s government has
expressed openness to amending the Afghan constitution, it opposes rewriting
it. Language in the U.S. proposal does set parameters for how the constitution
can potentially be rewritten, stating that Afghanistan’s “2004 constitution
will be the initial template.
Afghan government officials and
supporters of democratic structures fear that a new constitution could pave the
way for the Taliban to secure significant power in a future
government. Such authority could give the militants the ability to roll back
women’s rights, curb civil liberties such as freedom of speech and craft an
archaic justice system.
The role of Islam and the question
of elections
The draft agreement appears to
attempt to balance the Taliban’s demand that Afghanistan be ruled by Islamic
law and the Afghan government’s appeal for the country to be governed
democratically.
The U.S. proposal calls for
elections to be held after the formation of an interim government. While it
does not specify when, this could be viewed as a compromise to the leaders in
Kabul because the Taliban has described elections as a red line in the past,
deeming them a Western-imposed construct.
Islam also plays a prominent role
in the draft peace plan. According to the document, a “High Council for Islamic
Jurisprudence” would provide guidance and advice “to all national and local
government structures.” But in cases where the council disagrees with the
country’s judiciary, the position of the country’s Supreme Court would be
“final and binding.”
How to end the fighting
The proposal calls for a cease-fire
to begin with hours of the deal signing. The end of hostilities is described as
similar to the successful temporary reduction in violence that preceded the signing of the
U.S.-Taliban agreement, but this move would be “permanent and comprehensive.”
The United States and the
international community for months have called for violence levels to be
reduced. Afghanistan remains the most violent conflict in the world, with the
Taliban and Afghan forces clashing across the country as the militants look to
expand their territory.
The U.S. draft also calls on the
Taliban to “remove their military structures and offices from neighboring
countries,” a reference to Pakistan.
The Taliban deny the existence of
such sanctuaries outside of Afghanistan and would probably refuse to agree to a
document calling for their elimination. But reports including from the Pentagon claim Pakistan has long hosted Taliban
leaders and their families and provided medical treatment to the movement’s
fighters. The longtime relationship would be complicated to untangle. Pakistan
denies supporting the Taliban.
Sharif Hassan in Kabul and Haq
Nawaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
