Shakeel Ahmed Ramay
Afghan peace process is going on in full swing. Delegates from the Afghan government, Taliban, international and regional stakeholders are sitting in Doha to make the afghan peace process a result-oriented and meaningful exercise.
Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the top Afghan government negotiator is putting in concerted efforts to engage all stakeholders and Taliban. The stakeholders are also showing seriousness to assist Afghanistan to attain sustainable peace. Let’s hope and pray for the success of the Afghan peace process for the betterment of Afghan people.
The talks are literally fully focused on political issues like peace, ceasefire, women participation in governance, democracy, or way of government but there is very less or no discussion on the future economic model of Afghanistan.
For me it would be the most difficult puzzle to solve.
Afghan government and all partners, either regional or international, Muslim and non-Muslim countries are practicing liberal economic system and they would like the future Afghan set up to continue with the existing system but the  Taliban believe in the Islamic economic system.
The liberal economic system is entirely different from the Islamic economic system in almost all the fundamentals. Liberal economic system is based on Riba which according to the Islamic belief is not a good instrument of wealth redistribution. It is motivated by a desire to earn profit at any cost which in the eyes of Islamic scholars created numerous challenges for humanity and the planet.
The Taliban do not approve of the liberal economic system. They are interested towards Islamic system. We have observed that the Taliban, during their rule that ended in late 2001, implemented the Sharia laws to build the Islamic Emirates.
Now the question is whether Taliban would insist on the implementation of the Islamic Economic system? Riba is completely prohibited in Islam. It is declared as a war against Allah and His Prophet (PBUH). Hence, the role of the existing banking system would come under question if Taliban-inspired economic system is enforced. The role of financial institutions would also be at stake as these are being run on the basis of the Riba system.
The second basic difference between the Islamic economic system with that of the liberal one is the ways of redistribution of wealth. Islam stressed on the system of Zakat to cater needs of the poor and discourage the accumulation of wealth. It is the most comprehensive system, which ensures the wellbeing and welfare of common and poor people. It is mandatory for rich people to pay zakat and it must be spent on the poor sections of the society. Being an annual fixture, it is a sustainable model. It is not just doling out of charity to needy people but it aims to create a welfare society where the poor are helped to set up their personal business. Lastly, morality is a basic fundamental of the Islamic economic system that discourages exploitation of any kind.
Now the question is, which economic system Taliban would like to embrace in the new setup. It would really be a hard decision and challenge for the Taliban.
The Taliban run risk of losing the support of their staunch supporters for being an advocate of Islam if they chose the existing system. They might be accused of betraying the cause of Islam by their die-hard supporters if they embraced the existing financial system.
On the other hand, they would win the support of the international community and may earn lavish support by them if they opted for the liberal system as it helps them integrate with the world economic system. The international financial institutions would definitely come up to help Afghanistan to rebuild itself in case they enforce the liberal economic system. The Private sector will try to capitalize on the opportunities and bring in its investment in Afghanistan once the peace process is implemented.
It would be a devil and deep sea situation for the Taliban once the peace negotiators start deliberations of the economic system of the country.
Let’s see whether they would try to find a middle ground through a compromise or remain stick to their respective positions. Â
Author is the Director, Asia Study Center, SDPI.
