A series of peace jirgas, or assemblies, that are taking place in Afghanistan are advocating the end of the war between the Taliban and Afghan government. Bakhtar Aminzai of the National Peace Jirga of Afghanistan, an association of students, professors, lawyers, clerics, and others are pressuring the Afghan government to find a peaceful solution. Another group, a loya jirga, or grand assembly of Afghans, agrees according to Fatana Gilani, head of the Afghanistan Women's Council (AWC), a leading nongovernmental organization (NGO). A third group asks for an end of Afghanicide-–the killing of Afghanisti-–states Israir Ahmed Karimizai, a leader of Awakened Youth of Afghanistan, a prominent antiwar group. International NGOs receive a great deal of attention, but Afghan NGOs actually make up the bulk of the NGO presence in the country, says M. Hashim Mayar, deputy director of the Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), an umbrella organization of NGOs active in the country. ACBAR estimates that of the roughly 1,400 registered NGOs, nearly 1,100 are purely Afghan operations. Sheila Samimi, manager of the Afghan Women's Network (AWN), another prominent NGO that focuses on women's rights. AWN is composed of 63 small women-oriented NGOs that work around the country. In some instances, these groups will even critizise the Taliban.
Despite their organization, Afghan peace groups are also beset by weaknesses, states Habibullah Rafeh, a political analyst with the Afghanistan Academy of the Sciences. Their limitation is organizing along ethnic or tribal lines. The Awakened Youth and the National Peace Jirga, for instance, consist mostly of Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group, a rogue ethnic element.
