KABUL (SW): Salahuddin Rabbani, Minister for Foreign Affairs, has said that the Quadrilateral Coordination Group (QCG) seeks to hold the first round of direct talks with Taliban by the end of the this month.
Rabbani, while opening the 4th round of QCG conference here, said that it is a good opportunity for all the fighting groups to give-up fighting and join the peace process.
This is the last round of QCG where in addition to road map for the peace talks, the exact date for direct talks with the Taliban will be discussed. He said that peace is not only the hope and desire of the Afghans but it is also the precondition for stability in the whole region.
Rabbani stressed that if the armed groups did not embrace peace, they would be suppressed.
The first and third rounds of the QCG were held in Islamabad while the 2nd round was held here in Kabul.
Members of the QCG reached an agreement on road map for peace in the 2nd session in Islamabad two weeks ago.
Formal introduction of High Peace Council’s members
The Afghan government assigned Sayed Ahmad Gelani on Tuesday as the Head of the High Peace Council while Mohammad Karim Khalili, Haji Din Mohammad, Habiba Sarabi, Mawlawi Attaurahman Salim, Mawlawi Khabir and Mawlawi Khadam as the deputies for the HPC.
At the inaugural ceremony of the new HPC team, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said that peace is the wish of government and the nation. He said that the HPC is a necessity organ in this regard while thanking the former President Hamid Karzai for establishing it.
The President further said that the High Peace Council has so far lost 40 of its members for bringing peace in the country.
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