KABUL (SW): Mohammad Akram Khpalwak, Secretary of the High Peace Council, made it clear on Monday there is no proposal in place to handover certain areas to the Taliban for the peace process.
This comes as the Hezb-e-Islami chief, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, hinted a while ago some areas should be handed over to the Taliban in a bid to strengthen peace process. This sparked rumors suggesting the government was considering handing over Herat and a number of other provinces to the Taliban.
Discarding these rumors, Khpalwak said the government, the HPC or the society have no consensus towards any such move. He said there is growing consent among the masses and religious scholars towards the correct direction for peace in the country. The HPC Secretary said the nation would receive a good news in this regard in the coming 15 days.
About the forthcoming international religious conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, the HPC Secretary said this moot would have representation from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Indonesia. He urged the Taliban to nominate their representatives for this conference.
At the second Kabul Process conference last month, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani extended a comprehensive peace offer to the Taliban asking them to shun violence, acknowledge the Constitution and spurn ties with terrorists. In return, the President offered to recognize the Taliban as a political group, releasing their inmates and removing sanctions. The Taliban have so far not officially responded to this offer.
ENDS
