KABUL (SW) – Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, leader of the Hezb-e-Islami party and a presidential candidate, has said peace is the demand of all the people of Afghanistan and no individual or entity has the right to veto it.
Hekmatyar said this at a news conference in Kabul on Tuesday as he unveiled his party’s plan for peace.
He also emphasized upon formation of political consensus in the country, saying that peace is the desire of all Afghans. Hekmatyar proposed that three teams of him, President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, centered around former President Hamid Karzai, must come together to reach a political consensus.
He also emphasized that no credible and competent authority has yet been established to decide on peace, the peace plan and the peace negotiating body.
The Hezb-i Islami leader dubbed talks as the only way to achieve peace and insisted on holding talks within the country, if possible. Hekmatyar also reiterated the commitment of the parties to the inter-Afghan talks on the ceasefire, the release of political prisoners and the integration of armed opposition fighters into the Afghan security forces.
This comes as U.S. Special Representative for Peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, met with President Ghani last week, and said no significant progress has been made in talks with the Taliban.
ENDS
