Najam Interviewed on US-Taliban Afghanistan Deal

Adil Najam, Dean of the Pardee School of Global Studies, was interviewed on Urdu television news network Hum TV to comment on the results of the Super Tuesday Democratic Party primary results and its implications on the US Presidential election race. The interviews aired on the popular TV news show Barri Baat (March 4, 2020) and also focused on the international relations implications of the current US Presidential race.

In addition to Prof. Najam, the panel on the show included the spokesperson of the Taliban, the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, and two senior Journal lists who have been covering the Afghanistan situation. Najam argued that the deal was certainly something to be celebrated, “because no place on earth deserves peace more than Afghanistan,” but it should be clear that “this is not at all a cut-and-dry deal just yet; it is not as if all or even any of the i’s have been dotted or t’s crossed.”

He expected many hurdles to arise, especially including the exchange of prisoners and the actual formulation of who gets to sit in the intra-Afghan talks. However, he insisted that the efforts should be pushed forth and a lot will now depend on the ability and willingness of the US and of President Trump to push on the government in Kabul and on President Ghani of Afghanistan to move forth with the mechanics of the next round of intra-Afghan talks. A lot, he said, will also depend on the seriousness of the Taliban themselves in moving towards peace. “Ultimately,” he said, “this has to be an Afghan deal. Only, and only, the Afghans themselves have the right and ability to make this work.”

Adil Najam is the Inaugural Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University and was the former Vice Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). Read more about him here.

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