The ninth round of the Taliban-US talks on Afghan peace was held in Doha, Qatar recently, after which negotiations between the Taliban and the US entered a new phase;

Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera said the United States and the Taliban have agreed on formation of an interim government in Afghanistan. It said that the transitional period will be 14 months.

At the current stage, according to the agreement, the Taliban will have a share of power in Afghanistan and will give verifiable assurances that the Taliban will not permit terrorist organizations to maintain a toehold in territory under their control so that the interests of Washington and its allies would not be jeopardized.

The Americans, on the other hand, have accepted that the Taliban be part of the ruling establishment and participate in democratic mechanisms. It should be noted that both the Taliban and the Americans need this agreement because in these circumstances, the Taliban can participate in power and Americans can keep some of their troops at Afghan bases.

In fact, the Taliban and Washington have reached an agreement and now the debate is on the intra-Afghan talks. But whether such an understanding will lead to a ceasefire or an understanding with the Afghan central government is still unclear.

Of course, it seems unlikely that the central government would accept such an understanding and debate on the formation of a provisional government. Unless the Taliban prepares to enter into talks with the central government and the United States helps to hold the next round of talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government. In this case, an intra-Afghan solution may be obtained.

Concerning the interim government, it has long been debated because the tenure of the incumbent government has ended and it is continuing work upon a ruling by the Supreme Court. In other words, inside Afghanistan, some people question the legitimacy of the current government.

On the other hand, although the Taliban-US agreement on the interim government has been released, it is unclear whether a full agreement has been reached or not. The formation of the interim government has been the demand of all groups, and even the presidential candidates have raised the issue. But the question is who will lead the interim government. In fact, the Taliban are seeking to take over the interim government and nominate their own candidate. However, the rest of the political and social groups and even the Karzai government have a different outlook.

So the main issue, namely the formation of an interim government is correct, but what the quality and composition of this government would be is a matter of debate and does not seem to be easily resolved. Another important point in this regard is that the Taliban do not recognize the current government in principle, which is why the election debate has been called into question. So it is now debated whether peace with the Taliban should be a top priority or holding the election?!

The scheduled for the elections, however, is September 6, and there is not much time left. In fact, it is very difficult in the short run to decide whether or not to hold an election. On the other hand, the Afghan government is determined to hold elections under any circumstances and has taken all necessary measures in this regard. So if there is to be an agreement between the United States and the Taliban over a provisional government, this should also be raised in Kabul and the central government, political and social groups and jihadist parties should announce their consent. Otherwise it is not possible for the US and the Taliban alone to carry out such a project by bypassing the Afghan people and government.

Of course, as noted above, the Kabul government’s response to the formation of an interim government without their involvement is undoubtedly negative. Because the Kabul government has already emphasized that the elections be held first and then proceed accordingly. It has voiced opposition to the formation of a transitional government which the central government says is not clear when it would be able to hold the election. Therefore, the central government in Kabul would not accept the idea unless some unexpected events may occur.