Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, the leader of Pakistan’s Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam Fazal, has failed to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan despite being backed by a faction within the military establishment. But in doing so he has strengthened the hands of the main opposition parties Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party, reports Imad Zafar.
The chasm between illusion and reality in politics remains perennial. Wars seldom end according to the script of peace agreements. The fall of Saigon in April, 1975, ending the Vietnam War, with defeated Americans hastily retreating in helicopters from the rooftop of their embassy, was not anticipated in the Paris Peace Accords of January 1973 that were painstakingly negotiated by Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese politburo member Le Duc Tho. Read Mor
By Patrick S. Roberts & Ariel I. Ahram, War on the Rocks: “The peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban raises a lot of questions. The most important question is this — what took so long?"
The U.S. Wants Peace. The Taliban Wants an Emirate.
By Anchal Vohra, Foreign Policy: "At the pyramid-shaped seaside luxury hotel in Doha where the United States and the Taliban signed their long-awaited agreement, the 100 or so black turbans in attendance occasionally fluttered in the wind. The bearded Taliban leaders nonetheless had cheerful looks on their faces. For them, the Americans' agreement to leave Afghanistan, even without any commitment to a cease-fire, was a declaration of victory for their side."
Afghanistan Ready to Attack Taliban if Violence Continues. Afghanistan’s minister of defense on Sunday announced that, if the Taliban does not cease attacks by the end of the week, they would switch from “defense mode” to attacking the militant group. “Afghan forces will remain in defense mode until the end of this week under the guidance of President Ashraf Ghani because of the peace agreement, but if the Taliban do not stop their attacks by the end of the week, our troops will target the enemy everywhere,” the minister stated. The Taliban announced earlier this month that they were resuming attacks on Afghan forces. Reuters U.S. and World News Report