London, March 04: Senior British lawmakers have called on the government to abandon its dangerous military approach and engage in serious talk with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Members of Foreign Affairs Committee at the Commons urged Britain and the UK to start serious negotiations with the Taliban rather than launching a “full-scale counter-insurgency campaign” against them.
“There is a danger that without political leadership the current military campaign is in danger of inadvertently derailing efforts to secure a political solution to what is essentially a political problem,” said Richard Ottaway, chairman of the committee.
“We question the fundamental assumption that success in Afghanistan can be ‘bought’ through a strategy of ‘clear, hold and build’, added Ottaway.
“The distinction between al-Qaida and the Taliban, which is so often overlooked or confused in current debates, is crucial to generating appropriate policy responses in Afghanistan”, he said.
“We question the government’s logic that a full-scale counter-insurgency campaign aimed at the Taliban is necessary to prevent al-Qaida returning or that it could ever succeed”, said the chairman of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.
The British government joined the Afghan invasion on the pretext to protect British national security by defeating al-Qaida, said the committee.
The committee also suggested that the government’s claimed reason to invade Afghanistan may have been achieved “some time ago” since al-Qaida’s strength in the country seems limited.
The MPs also suggested that the “security rationale behind the 2015 deadline for withdrawing combat troops (from Afghanistan) was also not clear and the policy had a number of potential risks.”
“The findings of this committee confirm what we’ve been saying all along that British troops need to be withdrawn unconditionally”, said Stop the War Coalition’s Andrew Burgin.
“To make matters worse it has also been found that there is no valid reason for troops to remain in Afghanistan as national security no longer applies”, added Burgin.
“It seems that despite all the warnings and evidence the government still insists on stepping up its military presence in Afghanistan”, said the Stop the War Coalition.
Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt agreed with the committee that political reconciliation was “absolutely essential” for Afghanistan’s long-term stability.
“The strength and sacrifice of our forces must be matched by a surge in political and diplomatic efforts”, said Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander.
——–Agencies