Seminar: Slutspil i Afghanistan – fred hvordan? Verdenskendt journalist analyserer

Time: Thursday, 19 May at 13 -15 hours

Venue: Danish Institute for International Studies, Main Auditorium, Strandgade 71, ground floor, Christianshavn, 1401 Copenhagen K

Background

As US/NATO forces prepare to pull out of Afghanistan in the backdrop of a worsening security situation, the question of how to ensure a peaceful settlement becomes more pertinent and urgent.

Time: Thursday, 19 May at 13 -15 hours

Venue: Danish Institute for International Studies, Main Auditorium, Strandgade 71, ground floor, Christianshavn, 1401 Copenhagen K

Background

As US/NATO forces prepare to pull out of Afghanistan in the backdrop of a worsening security situation, the question of how to ensure a peaceful settlement becomes more pertinent and urgent.

Pivotal to this is the recent US effort to bolster dialogue with the Taliban and extend talks with other regional countries, particularly Pakistan and India. Since last autumn, US officials have held talks with Taliban representatives; these talks have included discussing the possibility of opening a Taliban political office in Turkey or one of the Gulf States from where Taliban can engage in dialogue with the Afghan government and other bodies.

A decisive turn from a military to political outlook, this development marks an important turn in a decade of US strategy.

However, what is the scope of this strategy and how efficacious will it be in dealing with the security threat emanating from the Af-Pak arena? What is the likelihood of a consensual agreement to an Afghan solution by Pakistan and India?

These and a number of other questions will be tackled by world renowned expert on the topic, Ahmed Rashid.

Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore, who has covered Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia for a variety of publications since 1979. He is the author of the best seller “Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia” (Yale University Press, 2000) which in April 2010 was reissued on its 10th anniversary with an updated version.

His most recent book is “Descent into Chaos: The US and the Disaster in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia” (Penguin, 2009).

He writes for the Financial Times, the Washington Post, the New York Review of Books, El Mundo and BBC Online amongst other publications.Foreign Policy Magazine chose him as one of the world’s most important 100 Global Thinkers in 2009 and 2010.

SPEAKERS
* Karsten Jakob Møller, Senior Analyst, DIIS
* Ahmed Rashid, Journalist, Pakistan
* Qandeel Siddique, Analyst, DIIS

PROGRAMME
13 -13.10
Introduction – Karsten Jakob Møller, Senior Analyst, DIIS

13.10 – 14
Beginning of the End Game: How to Make Peace in Afghanistan – Ahmed Rashid, Journalist, Pakistan

14 – 14.15
Coffee Break

14.15 – 15
Q&A

Chair: Qandeel Siddique, Analyst, DIIS

The seminar will be held in English.

Participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use the online registration form and do so no later than Wednesday 18 May at 12.00 noon.

Please await confirmation by e-mail from DIIS for participation.

Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), The Conference Section, Strandgade 56, 1401 Kbn K, tlf. 32 69 87 51, e-mail: [email protected] og web: www.diis.dk