KABUL (SW): Following Salahuddin Rabani’s appointment as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Masoum Stanekzai’s appointment as the Active Minister of Defense, a leadership vacuum has emerged in the High Peace Council.
Abdul Khaliq Pashayee, one of the members at the HPC, told Salam Watandar absence of chairman at the High Peace Council has hindered peace talks with the Taliban.
He said that disagreements between the Taliban have provided a good opportunity for peace talks but lack of a chairman at the council has created problems. He added that there has not been any formal talks between insurgents and the Afghan government due to lack of a chairman.
He further said that the current situation would be the best opportunity for resuming peace talks because both Pakistan and China showed interests in hosting the next round of the talks.
Sayed Zafar Hashemi, Deputy Spokesman for the President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, told Salam Watandar that they would do their best to select a chairman for the HPC.
A number of political experts believed that the expenditures of the council have been meager compared to its achievements.
A while ago, one of the officials at the HPC in Baghlan province said that peace talks’ process between the Taliban and government has cost more than $ 13 million in recent years.
ENDS
