In Search of Peace for Afghanistan

Edited By: Jawan Shir Rasikh with a Foreword by Lakhdar Brahimi

Historical Letters of President Najibullah and Dr. M. Hassan Kakar – A Collection of Essays

In Search of Peace for Afghanistan is a collection of twenty-two essays on war and peace making in contemporary Afghanistan. The volume is inspired by the discovery in 2019 of three historical letters of President Najibullah and historian M. Hassan Kakar. In the correspondence, exchanged in 1990, Najibullah and Kakar speak candidly about hopes and desires of the Afghan people for peace, about plans to bring peace to Afghanistan, and about actors, factors, and obstacles vis-à-vis the states of war and peace, then in post-Soviet Afghanistan. The contributors, all established and emerging Afghan and international scholars, public intellectuals, and former and current members of the civil society, policy, and state institutions, offer analyses of the correspondence in the contexts of the past and present peace making processes, and insights on modern Afghan state-society relations, public and political spaces, and development. They also offer renewed perspectives on the role of wider global and regional geopolitics and non-state actors in the current war in Afghanistan, as well as provide comparative examples of successful peace negotiations and best practices from international conflict resolution and history.

“Everyone gives different reasons for the misery of Afghanistan. I don’t think now is the time to talk about the faults and responsibilities of this or that side because nothing will come out of it except an increase of differences and a continuation of the bloodshed. Instead, we should all try to find a way out of the current bloody crisis. People of Afghanistan no longer want to be sacrificed because of the vengeance of others. Foremost they need peace so that they can forget the bitter past and turn their attention toward building a fair, safe, and sound future for themselves and future Afghan generations.”

President Najibullah in his letter to Dr. M. Hassan Kakar

“If the involved parties, foreign and internal, are ready and determined, the procedures for creating a national government will not be a problem. If the internal sides give priority to the interest of the country and its people or that of their own, then it is possible that the current crisis can be solved. The leaders of the involved parties and in fact every prominent Afghan has a great responsibility in this regard. It would be naïve to think that others will prescribe a disinterested solution for us. It would also be a case of improper pride to say that we don’t need anyone’s help in this national disaster.”

Dr. M. Hassan Kakar in his response to President Najibullah