Taliban are ready for national dialogue

In an interview with Arabstoday, deputy leader of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, Sayed Hamed Gailani, announced that the Taliban are ready for a national dialogue. The prominent political figure confirmed that the message was delivered to him via a letter from Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, endorsing Gailani’s national dialogue efforts. Previous talks seeking national reconciliation in the country have failed.  However, on the back of US President Barack Obama's pledge to withdraw 34,000 US troops by early 2014,  and with presidential elections in Afghanistan looming within the same year, Gailani believes that national dialogue is the key to the future of Afghanistan. “The situation in Afghanistan has never been normal nor has it ever been easy,” admitted Gailani adding: "This is a continuation of the legacy of complications, we as a country, have inherited.” Gailani is no stranger to Afghan politics. The son of Pir Sayed Ahmed Gailani – leader of the Qadiriyyah Sufi order and founder of the National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, a party that was associated with the Mujahideen (freedom fighters) who led the war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s – Gailani is entrenched in the affairs of Afghanistan. “Our country needs unity amongst its people. It requires a broad-based, all-inclusive dialogue between all Afghan stakeholders – including the government, the armed opposition, the political opposition, the Northern Alliance and the Taliban. It is beyond the capability of a body or an individual segment, a party or society to sort out the current issues. We all need to join hands and bail the country out together.” Sayed Hamed Gailani affirms that the formation of the Afghan national dialogue will be finalised  by the end of March after which the initiative will be made public through rallies in key Afghan provinces. Gailani described  the national dialogue as "a multi-purpose mechanism which will deal with the situation as it occurs and as it emerges, from today up until 2014 when foreign troops begin to leave.” “With the current divide, nothing can be achieved and the imminent departure of foreign troops in this present situation is a nightmare. Therefore, to remove this nightmare, we need to get our act together, list our priorities, and work accordingly. After this we can select a new government and choose the new leadership of the country.” Gailani disclosed that the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, whom he met three weeks ago, also supports the initiative, and said he looks forward to learning about the president's nomination to take part in the national dialogue. Discussing the current leadership and thoughts about Karzai, Gailani said: “It will be unfair to say nothing has been done. A lot has been achieved. But at the same time, these achievements have not been enough to really tackle the pending issues.” “Afghanistan requires a more focused, a more sophisticated and a far more serious and coordinated approach. We as Afghans are key and we need to work together. I have reasons to believe that we are on the way to achieve this through a national dialogue process.” In response to a question about whether Afghanistan is ready to run on its own, Gailani replied: “If all the major stakeholders are on board and respond to the pending problems collectively and responsibly, then yes, I would say we are ready and this will be the instrument to bail the country out.”