Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

The Path to Intra-Afghan Talks

Members of the Afghan Government Negotiating Team Discuss Next Steps for the Peace Process

Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2020 / Time: 11:00am - 12:15pm 

Center: Asia Center

Share This
Print the Page

Since the signing of the landmark U.S.-Taliban agreement on February 29, efforts to reach the next phase in the Afghanistan peace process have faced numerous obstacles, both old and new. Comprehensive Intra-Afghan negotiations, originally planned to begin within 10 days of the U.S.-Taliban agreement, have yet to occur—delayed by disagreements over the presidential election results, prisoner releases, and now the spread of coronavirus in Afghanistan and the region. One hopeful sign, however, was the announcement of a politically and ethnically inclusive negotiation team to represent the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in talks with the Taliban.

Continue the conversation on Twitter with #AfghanPeace.

The 21-member delegation will be led by former Minister Masoom Stanekzai and includes five women. Now that a team has been formed, negotiators will need to plan their strategy for the intra-Afghan talks and develop negotiating positions on key substantive issues—including political power-sharing, the role of Islam, and the future of human rights protections and democracy in Afghanistan.  

On April 22, USIP hosted members of the Afghan government’s negotiating team for an online discussion on recent developments, the challenges of getting intra-Afghan negotiations underway, and how the country can move closer to a political settlement for the decades-long conflict. 

Speakers

Masoom Stanekzai
Head of the Afghan Government Negotiation Team; former Chief of the National Directorate of Security 

Habiba Sarabi
Afghan Government Negotiation Team Member; Deputy Chair, Afghanistan High Peace Council 

Alexander Thier 
Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Founder of Triple Helix Consulting

Ambassador Richard Olson, moderator 
Senior Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace; former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan

Andrew Wilder, welcoming remarks
Vice President, Asia Center, U.S Institute of Peace

Related Publications

The Latest @ USIP: Reclaiming Human Rights in Afghanistan

The Latest @ USIP: Reclaiming Human Rights in Afghanistan

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

By: Fatima Gailani

Since taking power in 2021, the Taliban have imposed their own interpretation of Islamic law onto the people of Afghanistan and consistently rolled back human rights protections — especially for women and girls — all while the country struggles to recover from decades of conflict and economic crisis. USIP spoke with Fatima Gailani, the former president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, about the various ways Afghans can put pressure on the Taliban to reclaim their rights and demand a better future.

Type: Blog

Gender;  Human Rights

Asfandyar Mir on Why ISIS-K Attacked Moscow

Asfandyar Mir on Why ISIS-K Attacked Moscow

Monday, April 1, 2024

By: Asfandyar Mir, Ph.D.

ISIS-K’s recent attack on the Russian capital was, in part, intended to assert the organization’s growing capacity to inflict terror beyond its home base of Afghanistan. “By reaching Moscow, ISIS-K is trying to signal it has the geographic reach to hit anywhere in the world,” says USIP’s Asfandyar Mir.

Type: Podcast

Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Moscow Concert Hall Attack Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

By: Mary Glantz, Ph.D. ;   Gavin Helf, Ph.D. ;   Asfandyar Mir, Ph.D. ;   Andrew Watkins

On Friday, terrorists attacked the Crocus City Hall outside Moscow leaving 140 people dead and 80 others critically wounded. Soon after, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist group, which is headquartered in Iraq and Syria, has several branches, including in South and Central Asia. Press reports suggest the U.S. government believes the Afghanistan-based affiliate of the Islamic State, ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), was behind the attack. The Biden administration has publicly noted that it had warned the Russian government of the terrorism threat in early March in line with the procedure of “Duty to Warn.”

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

The Challenges Facing Afghans with Disabilities

The Challenges Facing Afghans with Disabilities

Thursday, February 29, 2024

By: Belquis Ahmadi

In Afghanistan, obtaining accurate data on the number of persons with disabilities — including gender-disaggregated information — has always been a challenging endeavor. But based on the data we do have, it’s clear that more than four decades of violent conflict have left a considerable portion of the Afghan population grappling with various forms of disabilities, both war-related and otherwise. And the pervasive lack of protective mechanisms, social awareness and empathy surrounding disability continue to pose formidable challenges for individuals with disabilities, with women being disproportionately affected.

Type: Analysis

Gender;  Human Rights

View All Publications