The Afghan Ministry of Borders & Tribal Affairs (MoBTA) on Thursday announced plans to connect and rally villages nationwide around the cause of sustainable peace and security in Afghanistan.
The restoration of longstanding peace and security in Afghanistan has been one of the fundamental aspirations of the Afghan people since the Soviets invaded in 1979.
The Afghan government is now struggling to make headway in peace talks with the Taliban, the entrenched militant Islamists who were ousted from power by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
While many of these efforts have been understood as grand gestures and maneuvers on the part of top-leaders in Kabul and the capitals of other stake holding nations, perhaps the most successful reconciliation efforts have been on the local level. Tens of insurgents join provincial reconciliation programs nearly every month.
The Council of Tribes has reportedly started peace efforts in villages around the country.
The High Peace Council (HPC), charged with overseeing the peace negotiation process, has strongly backed the move by the Council of Tribes and the plans the MoBTA officials announced on Thursday.
"Naturally its an important that the HPC seeks the support of the Council of Tribes," HPC member Mohammad Ismail Qasimyar said.
The Acting Minister of Borders and Tribal Affairs Mohammad Akram Ekhpalwak said that Afghan tribes should undertake practical steps for the establishment of durable peace.
"Peace restoration is applicable through the cooperation of tribes not by slogan," Acting Minister Ekhpalwak said. "The Ministry of Borders and Tribal Affairs is ready to provide all available resources and support to the peace initiatives of the High Peace Council," he added.
As efforts by President Hamid Karzai to get Taliban commanders to the negotiating table remain ostensibly dead in the water, a new, grassroots push for peace amongst the tribes, on a local level, could provide the boost the process so desperately needs.