Most Afghan Taliban are willing to lay down their arms, a former militants commander said, but are afraid they will be killed for defecting because the government cannot ensure their safety.The US on Friday launched a new strategy in Afghanistan in response to the Taliban-led militancy that is growing in strength and scope. More than 5,000 people, including 2,100 civilians, have been killed in last year.
"Ninety-five per cent of the Taliban want to reconcile with the government if they can be assured security," Mullah Abdul Salam, a former high-ranking Taliban commander and now governor of Musa Qala in Helmand, told Reuters.
"But the government cannot ensure their safety. If they defect to the government, the other Taliban will kill them. They are fighting for their lives," said Salam. The government must promise to keep safe those militants who make peace, Salam added, but most of the militants are hedging their bets until it is strong enough to do so.
The Taliban "are just observing the security situation. At the moment the government is not much stronger than them. When it gets stronger they will come to the government side," said Salam, once a friend of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
Under the Taliban Salam served as provincial governor for Uruzgan, a Taliban stronghold and birthplace of Mullah Omar.Salam said he used to be very close with the one-eyed Omar but the two fell out about 10 years ago. He has had no contact with Omar since then, he said.
"I was really close to him. We would meet just like we are here. He was my good friend," Salam said. "Two years before the 2001 attacks ... I told Mullah Omar: "You are forcing the people to pray and this is not a good way to treat the people. Leave them to live their lives. But he didn't listen and so after that I didn't have any contact with him," Salam said.
Like many members of the Taliban, Salam is virtually illiterate having only been educated in a madrassa, or religious school, up to the age of 12. On a glass coffee table in front of him is a signature stamp, which many Taliban commanders often use because they are unable to sign their names.
But what Salam lacks in education he makes up for in character. Charismatic and larger than life, he is an excellent orator. He grins as he recounts his Taliban days and says he is not against them but does not agree with what they are doing.
He said in an interview he is in contact with the Taliban all over Afghanistan and in Pakistan. Salam says he needs more funding to allow intelligence officers to go and talk to the militants and wants to set up more police checkpoints to spread governance to a wider area.
"If they are not living in a secure area and they join the government, the other Taliban will kill them. I say to the Taliban: "Stop killing the people and do business and look after your families", Salam added.