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Kabul, Feb 28 (IANS) The Afghans have appeaed generally optimistic in anticipation of the long-awaited peace deal to be signed between the US and the Taliban in Qatar on Saturday following an experimental truce on week-long reduction in violence.
However, some fear that a possible return of the strict Taliban-type governance will compromise the hard-won democratic progress and women's rights enshrined in the system since the collapse of the Islamist regime in 2001.
"Why should I not be happy for peace," an 80-year-old Muqamuddin, who lost his father and two brothers in the past four decades of war, told Efe news here.
Muqamuddin said his dream of seeing Afghanistan in peace was now coming true after decades of death and destruction.
After months of negotiations, the two sides earlier in February agreed to maintain a week-long truce that began on February 22.
The week, so far, is the first in the country in years to witness a drastic reduction in violent incidents.
The four decades of the Afghan war have killed hundreds of thousands of combatants and non-combatants. Some 100,000 civilians lost their lives in the last 10 years alone.
Shah Wali, a 47-year-old Kabul resident, said he had spent his entire life seeing violence almost every day.
The conflict has claimed many of his kin and he was injured in a blast when he was just eight-years old, losing one of his fingers.
"I am very optimistic that there will be finally peace for all of us."
According to a survey released last month by the non-profit Institute of War and Peace Studies (IWPS), 80 per cent Afghans believe that the dialog could end the conflict, while 20 per cent still think that only a decisive war could bring peace.
The affinity for a Taliban comeback isn't shared very widely, with many Afghans unwilling to accept the group's strict interpretation of the Islamic law.
"I am happy for peace, but fear for the women's rights, educational rights, and other freedoms," said Zeeba, sharing her concerns that the gains made in the nearly two decades since the Taliban was toppled might get diluted.
"The government should not accept these rights to be reversed or lost again."
Over 3,400 civilians were killed and nearly 7,000 injured in Afghanistan last year, according to the UN's annual tally of civilian casualties released last week.
--IANS
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