US-TALIBAN PEACE TALKS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Purpose: The study explores the after-effects of US-Taliban peace talks and how these can bring peace in decades' long war-wracked Afghanistan. It also investigates whether or not the ever-widening trust deficit between the stakeholders be bridged through these talks and in the future, Afghan soil will never be used for transnational activities. How can these talks neutralize and influence militant groups to join mainstream politics? Methodology: Relevant data were collected from newspaper articles, editorials, websites, journals, research reports, and magazines and minutely analyzed. The research is qualitative and explanatory cum exploratory in nature. Analytical techniques were utilized to evaluate data on the outcomes of the Doha-based US-Taliban peace talks. Main Findings: The study finds that it's easy to conclude table talks but hard to implement on the ground. Decades' long trust deficit will not come to an end until and unless all the stakeholders move forward positively. Intra-Afghan dialogue is the most important step to bring the political instability to an end and constitutional accommodation be made accordingly to space all these in mainstream politics. Applications: Findings of the study, to some extent, will be fruitful for the stakeholders to prioritize the steps to bring peace to Afghanistan. It also cautions regional and international actors to pursue their interests without using the soil of Afghanistan for seditious activities in rival countries. Novelty: The study is unique in the sense that it explores the ways and means through which decades’ long trust deficit can be bridged by looping into the stakeholders for lasting peace to Afghanistan and the region.