ince 15 August 2021, when the Taliban forcefully toppled the democratically elected government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghans have been struggling to organize a constructive opposition and inclusive alternative to the Taliban. In the year following the collapse of the Islamic Republic, many Afghans were in shock and faced hardships due to displacement inside and outside of Afghanistan. Those displaced abroad are still waiting for their resettlement cases to be determined and finalized, while others have begun settling down in various countries, most of which participated in the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan between 2001–2021.
Despite the great challenges they face, Afghans within and outside their country have been increasingly resisting the developments imposed on them in the past three years. Tyranny, gender apartheid, terrorism, and criminality characterize the Taliban’s rule, which they recently called their “victory” over NATO, the world’s strongest military alliance. However, Afghans realize that this was not truly a victory for the Taliban, but rather the result of the controversial “Doha deal,” which effectively led to the collapse of Afghanistan’s young democracy.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump initiated the “Doha deal” process. His administration signed the "Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan" with the Taliban on 29 February 2020. However, this process excluded the Islamic Republic. President Trump's envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, whose approach was later adopted by President Joe Biden, frequently pressured the Islamic Republic into making one–sided strategic concessions to facilitate NATO troop withdrawal. This approach hardly aimed at "bringing peace to Afghanistan." A meaningful peace process should begin with a ceasefire by the warring parties, allowing them to build confidence and make reciprocal concessions, ultimately leading to a sustainable political settlement and peace outcome.
One unprecedented concession made by the Islamic Republic was the release of over 5,000 extremely dangerous Taliban detainees, most of whom were either involved in terrorist attacks against civilians or were involved in drug trafficking, the revenues from which financed terrorism. However, the Taliban and their state sponsor, Pakistan, did not respond to any of the Islamic Republic's gestures. Instead, they saw the "Doha deal" as a green light to increase both conventional and terrorist attacks against Afghan forces and civilians in urban areas. Despite dwindling resources and the withdrawal of crucial operational support by NATO, the Afghan forces vigorously fought the Taliban. They made numerous sacrifices to protect the hard–earned progress of the Afghan people in freedom, democracy, human and women's rights, as well as socioeconomic development.
Indeed, Afghanistan’s democratic journey would have hardly taken off without overwhelming buy–in from the Afghan people. In the wake of 9/11 when the international community reengaged in Afghanistan, Afghans’ overnight embrace of democracy against the Taliban’s oppressive rule stemmed from the country’s egalitarian culture. This characterizes mountainous peoples from Switzerland in the heart of Europe to Afghanistan in the heart of Asia. They similarly seek autonomy and minimum government against authoritarian rule.
Despite the betrayal of their growing democracy in 2021, Afghans across the world are determined to reverse the challenges faced by Afghanistan under the Taliban's rule. The ongoing brain drain is costing the country in both the short and long term. This reflects the dissatisfaction of Afghans who face persecution, detention, and extrajudicial killing based on gender, ethnicity, religion, and sect. They witness their homeland increasingly becoming a lawless place where over 20 terrorist and criminal networks with regional and global reach freely roam, posing a direct threat to regional stability and international security. The collapse of the state and an economy reliant on weekly cash deliveries, much of which ends up in the hands of the Taliban with no oversight or transparency, is causing serious concern among Afghans. This situation is leading to an increase in the number of Afghans seeking safety abroad and hoping for a secure future.
Considering the worsening complexity of Afghanistan’s numerous crises, including recent climate disasters, a growing number of Afghan advocates and activists have come together to form the Vienna Process. The Vienna Process has a robust, inclusive agenda aimed at achieving a sustainable political settlement in Afghanistan. Since September 2022, the Vienna Process has held four meetings hosted by the Austrian Institute for International Affairs in the city of Vienna. The city has a tradition of neutrality and has been facilitating collective peace efforts to end protracted conflicts with the support of the international community under the United Nations Charter.
Consequently, in his 2 May 2023 letter to the Women of Afghanistan of the Vienna Process for a Democratic Afghanistan, UN Secretary–General Antonio Guterres wrote, “The United Nations is committed to supporting the engagement of the international community on the issue of Afghanistan.” He added, “I take this opportunity to reaffirm that the United Nations stands in full solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and will continue to call for the reversal of all measures restricting the right of women and girls to education and the rights of women related to employment, freedom movement, and full, equal and meaningful participation in public life.”
Since then, the Vienna Process has gained further momentum, “having brought together 40 different parties, including Afghan organizations such as women’s movements, civil society, media representatives, and influential individuals.” We experienced the diversity of Afghan voices firsthand when we took part in the fourth meeting of the Vienna Process in June 2024. It was the first time that the meeting felt "Afghan–led," "Afghan–owned," and "Afghan–managed," with foreign dignitaries and guests only attending the closing session of the two–day meeting to listen to Afghans discuss the way forward, with the support of the international community.
The Vienna Process seeks to rationalize the status quo under the Taliban. Unlike the Doha Process, the Vienna Process is an inclusive platform that invites all Afghan sides, including the Taliban, to join the effort to free Afghanistan from fear, terror, drugs, and want. Coming together under the Vienna Process to build on the progress made so far is an opportunity no serious Afghan side should miss. This will further develop the process into an overarching umbrella for meaningful intra–Afghan dialogue, which, with international support and regional cooperation, should lead to a sustainable political settlement and the formation of an inclusive government with national legitimacy and international recognition.
That is why the Vienna Process also presents NATO, as an alliance of established democracies, with an opportunity to rectify its premature withdrawal in 2021. By implementing corrective policy measures, NATO can help restore the hard–earned democratic gains of the Afghan people. Instead of allocating resources to pet projects in the name of peace, certain member–states of NATO should support Afghan efforts under the Vienna Process to achieve tangible results for sustainable peace in Afghanistan. This support will not only help restore hope in others demanding democratic rule but will also rebuild trust in the wavering commitment of established democracies. Standing by the Vienna Process and aiding Afghans in building sustainable peace, pluralism, and prosperity will make a long–lasting contribution to democracy, which has steadily lost global appeal due to the "Doha deal" fiasco and other events that have worked against young and developing democracies.
Lastly, Afghans are urging the United States presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, to put aside their differences regarding U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and instead offer the American electorate clear foreign policy choices that align with America’s core values of liberty, equal human rights, and democracy. The candidates should address the Afghans’ plea for the restoration of dignified and just peace in the Taliban–ruled Afghanistan, which the United States does not recognize and on which it maintains sanctions. This goal remains achievable through collaborative efforts such as the Vienna Process, and it is still a “NATO’s mission possible” that the United States should continue to support.
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The world must support Afghan peace efforts under the Vienna Process
Afghanistan children flying kites near Kabul. Photo by Farid Ershad on Unsplash
September 13, 2024
Afghans continue resisting the rule of the Taliban both from inside Afghanistan and abroad. The Vienna Process—which is a more inclusive and just mechanism for negotiating peace within Afghanistan than the Doha Document ever was—offers hope, writes M. Ashraf Haidari.
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ince 15 August 2021, when the Taliban forcefully toppled the democratically elected government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghans have been struggling to organize a constructive opposition and inclusive alternative to the Taliban. In the year following the collapse of the Islamic Republic, many Afghans were in shock and faced hardships due to displacement inside and outside of Afghanistan. Those displaced abroad are still waiting for their resettlement cases to be determined and finalized, while others have begun settling down in various countries, most of which participated in the stabilization and reconstruction of Afghanistan between 2001–2021.
Despite the great challenges they face, Afghans within and outside their country have been increasingly resisting the developments imposed on them in the past three years. Tyranny, gender apartheid, terrorism, and criminality characterize the Taliban’s rule, which they recently called their “victory” over NATO, the world’s strongest military alliance. However, Afghans realize that this was not truly a victory for the Taliban, but rather the result of the controversial “Doha deal,” which effectively led to the collapse of Afghanistan’s young democracy.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump initiated the “Doha deal” process. His administration signed the "Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan" with the Taliban on 29 February 2020. However, this process excluded the Islamic Republic. President Trump's envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, whose approach was later adopted by President Joe Biden, frequently pressured the Islamic Republic into making one–sided strategic concessions to facilitate NATO troop withdrawal. This approach hardly aimed at "bringing peace to Afghanistan." A meaningful peace process should begin with a ceasefire by the warring parties, allowing them to build confidence and make reciprocal concessions, ultimately leading to a sustainable political settlement and peace outcome.
One unprecedented concession made by the Islamic Republic was the release of over 5,000 extremely dangerous Taliban detainees, most of whom were either involved in terrorist attacks against civilians or were involved in drug trafficking, the revenues from which financed terrorism. However, the Taliban and their state sponsor, Pakistan, did not respond to any of the Islamic Republic's gestures. Instead, they saw the "Doha deal" as a green light to increase both conventional and terrorist attacks against Afghan forces and civilians in urban areas. Despite dwindling resources and the withdrawal of crucial operational support by NATO, the Afghan forces vigorously fought the Taliban. They made numerous sacrifices to protect the hard–earned progress of the Afghan people in freedom, democracy, human and women's rights, as well as socioeconomic development.
Indeed, Afghanistan’s democratic journey would have hardly taken off without overwhelming buy–in from the Afghan people. In the wake of 9/11 when the international community reengaged in Afghanistan, Afghans’ overnight embrace of democracy against the Taliban’s oppressive rule stemmed from the country’s egalitarian culture. This characterizes mountainous peoples from Switzerland in the heart of Europe to Afghanistan in the heart of Asia. They similarly seek autonomy and minimum government against authoritarian rule.
Despite the betrayal of their growing democracy in 2021, Afghans across the world are determined to reverse the challenges faced by Afghanistan under the Taliban's rule. The ongoing brain drain is costing the country in both the short and long term. This reflects the dissatisfaction of Afghans who face persecution, detention, and extrajudicial killing based on gender, ethnicity, religion, and sect. They witness their homeland increasingly becoming a lawless place where over 20 terrorist and criminal networks with regional and global reach freely roam, posing a direct threat to regional stability and international security. The collapse of the state and an economy reliant on weekly cash deliveries, much of which ends up in the hands of the Taliban with no oversight or transparency, is causing serious concern among Afghans. This situation is leading to an increase in the number of Afghans seeking safety abroad and hoping for a secure future.
Considering the worsening complexity of Afghanistan’s numerous crises, including recent climate disasters, a growing number of Afghan advocates and activists have come together to form the Vienna Process. The Vienna Process has a robust, inclusive agenda aimed at achieving a sustainable political settlement in Afghanistan. Since September 2022, the Vienna Process has held four meetings hosted by the Austrian Institute for International Affairs in the city of Vienna. The city has a tradition of neutrality and has been facilitating collective peace efforts to end protracted conflicts with the support of the international community under the United Nations Charter.
Consequently, in his 2 May 2023 letter to the Women of Afghanistan of the Vienna Process for a Democratic Afghanistan, UN Secretary–General Antonio Guterres wrote, “The United Nations is committed to supporting the engagement of the international community on the issue of Afghanistan.” He added, “I take this opportunity to reaffirm that the United Nations stands in full solidarity with the people of Afghanistan and will continue to call for the reversal of all measures restricting the right of women and girls to education and the rights of women related to employment, freedom movement, and full, equal and meaningful participation in public life.”
Since then, the Vienna Process has gained further momentum, “having brought together 40 different parties, including Afghan organizations such as women’s movements, civil society, media representatives, and influential individuals.” We experienced the diversity of Afghan voices firsthand when we took part in the fourth meeting of the Vienna Process in June 2024. It was the first time that the meeting felt "Afghan–led," "Afghan–owned," and "Afghan–managed," with foreign dignitaries and guests only attending the closing session of the two–day meeting to listen to Afghans discuss the way forward, with the support of the international community.
The Vienna Process seeks to rationalize the status quo under the Taliban. Unlike the Doha Process, the Vienna Process is an inclusive platform that invites all Afghan sides, including the Taliban, to join the effort to free Afghanistan from fear, terror, drugs, and want. Coming together under the Vienna Process to build on the progress made so far is an opportunity no serious Afghan side should miss. This will further develop the process into an overarching umbrella for meaningful intra–Afghan dialogue, which, with international support and regional cooperation, should lead to a sustainable political settlement and the formation of an inclusive government with national legitimacy and international recognition.
That is why the Vienna Process also presents NATO, as an alliance of established democracies, with an opportunity to rectify its premature withdrawal in 2021. By implementing corrective policy measures, NATO can help restore the hard–earned democratic gains of the Afghan people. Instead of allocating resources to pet projects in the name of peace, certain member–states of NATO should support Afghan efforts under the Vienna Process to achieve tangible results for sustainable peace in Afghanistan. This support will not only help restore hope in others demanding democratic rule but will also rebuild trust in the wavering commitment of established democracies. Standing by the Vienna Process and aiding Afghans in building sustainable peace, pluralism, and prosperity will make a long–lasting contribution to democracy, which has steadily lost global appeal due to the "Doha deal" fiasco and other events that have worked against young and developing democracies.
Lastly, Afghans are urging the United States presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, to put aside their differences regarding U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and instead offer the American electorate clear foreign policy choices that align with America’s core values of liberty, equal human rights, and democracy. The candidates should address the Afghans’ plea for the restoration of dignified and just peace in the Taliban–ruled Afghanistan, which the United States does not recognize and on which it maintains sanctions. This goal remains achievable through collaborative efforts such as the Vienna Process, and it is still a “NATO’s mission possible” that the United States should continue to support.
