It appears that the stalled peace process between Kabul and the Afghan Taliban may finally be on the verge of revival, and may even have been resurrected by the recent offer President Ashraf Ghani made to the Afghan Taliban during the second round of the Kabul Process for Peace and Security Cooperation in Kabul on February 28, 2018.
In an unprecedented move, and what is being termed as the best offer presented by any Afghan government, President Ghani offered recognition of the Taliban as a legitimate political group and to open an office for them in Kabul, proposed a ceasefire, release of Taliban prisoners, their removal from the international blacklists, security arrangements, as well as pledges to reintegrate and provide employment to those Taliban willing to join the process.[1] More importantly, President Ghani’s offer to hold new elections involving the Taliban, as well as his offer for a constitutional review,[2] is significant considering the fact that a constitutional review or amendment has always been a major demand of the Taliban and unlike any offer made in the past. [3]
