Afghan peace talks teams share demands that differ vastly

The Afghan Republic’s talks team and the Taliban’s team each presented their demands during discussions on Wednesday and while the republic’s team wants achievements to be preserved, the Taliban are set on an Islamic state.

This came on the fifth straight day of discussions between the two sides after last week’s breakthrough in the months-long deadlock.

Sources told Ariana News on condition of anonymity that the Republic’s team put forward 28 items and emphasized the need to preserve the achievements made over the past 19 years.

The Taliban in turn put forward 22 demands and emphasized the need for an interim government and women’s rights to be upheld in accordance with Sharia law.

The source said the requests by the Republic’s negotiators included the following:

1. Declaring a lasting ceasefire without any conditions
2. Preserving the Islamic Republic system
3. Preserving the country’s flag
4. Preserving the Afghan Constitution
5. Preserving the Afghan national defense and security institutions
6. Accepting all contracts and agreements that the government signed with various countries
7. Disarming all Taliban fighters after a peace agreement has been signed
8. Recruiting the Taliban into government structures after the completion of the peace process
9. Accepting women, children, and people with disabilities’ rights as per national and international norms.

“Today both [teams of] negotiators discussed relevant issues on the agenda. Our negotiators focused on people’s demands,” said Najia Anwar, spokeswoman for the State Ministry on Peace Affairs.

The Taliban meanwhile called for the following:

1. Removal of all Taliban names from blacklists
2. Removal of the use of terms such as republic and democratic and for the next government to be named the Islamic government
3. All educational and training institutions should operate in accordance with Sharia law
4. Establishing an organization under the name of Amr-bil-Maroof to enforce Islamic law
5. Establishing an interim government for between 12 and 18 months
6. Both sides to keep the areas under their control currently [but local governments in Taliban areas to be handed over]
7. Disarming the Taliban would be accepted once an Islamic government has been established
8. Recognizing the Taliban as a shadow government until the peace process has been finalized
9. Terms like war crimes and violations of human rights should be removed and the use of the words should be recognized as a crime
10. Including at least 100,000 Taliban fighters into the Afghan security forces after a peace deal has been reached
11. Civil society, human rights, women rights, and freedom of speech should be in accordance with Sharia law
12. Establishing an Ulema council to advise the government and its decisions should be adhered to

“The Taliban and the government’s proposals should be discussed in the peace talks and I personally want a ceasefire first,” said Sima Samar, State Minister for Human Rights.

This comes after the Afghan Republic’s team and the Taliban agreed on procedural rules last week in order to take the talks forward.