Afghanistan needs to be more decentralized: Khalilzad

Afghanistan’s government needs to be more decentralized and political inclusivity needs to be ensured in order to prevent another war, former US special envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Saturday.

Speaking at the Islamabad Security Dialogue conference, Khalilzad said that the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan has had both positive and negative consequences.

“On the positive side, the war has ended already. There is a government that controls all of Afghanistan, but on the negative is that the government is not legitimate in the sense that it doesn’t come true what it has agreed to do in the agreement that ended the war, meaning the US war, which was that the new government would be as a result of intra-Afghan negotiations so that it reflects the diversity,” Khalilzad said.

He said that currently the Afghan government is “very centralized” and a more decentralized government would also ensure economic participation and inclusivity.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), however, rejected Khalilzad’s claim that the government is very centralized.

Enamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman for IEA, said that the government is committed to ensuring balanced development across Afghanistan and it would work for greater inclusivity.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, told the conference that “we have to be patient and accommodative” over the IEA’s performance.

“Instead of imposing sanctions which have never worked, we must incentivize Afghans for their positive behavioral changes,” Bajwa said.

He said that disengagement with Afghanistan is not an option. “We urge the international community to share their concern directly with Afghan interim government.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also said that after 40 years, there is no internal war in Afghanistan and one government controls the entire country.

“This presents a unique opportunity to stabilize Afghanistan and build sustainable peace the international community can achieve by engaging with Afghan authorities, unfreezing Afghanistna’s financial reserves and reviving reconstruction and sustainable development of Afghanistan,” Qureshi said.

He also urged IEA to positively respond to the expectations of the international community with regard to inclusivity, human rights including women’s rights, girls’ education and the threat of terrorism.