KABUL (SW) – A well-placed source told Salam Watandar the official peace delegation’s trip to Qatar for talks with the Taliban has been delayed.
Though no reasons have been cited officially for the delay, but sources say technical glitches and the speech by President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday are among the reasons. President Ghani met some of the 250 peace delegates at the presidency yesterday.
Addressing the delegates at the Arg (presidency), he urged the Taliban should be informed there is no other way than direct talks with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and there is no other formula to end the war. He stressed the stability of the system should be defended at this historic juncture.
He urged the peace delegates to defend the people of Afghanistan. President Ghani added the Constitution is a guideline for these talks.
Earlier in the day, the Taliban mocked the Afghan official delegation comprising more than 200 peace delegates for its size saying the conference in Doha is not a 'wedding party'.
Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban spokesman issued a statement on Wednesday in this regard. He said only a limited number of political and national figures from this list are selected for the finalized list and only they shall be participating.
President Ghani’s proposed deputy for the next presidential polls, Amrullah Saleh, has said he would not attend these talks owing to personal and technical matters.
ENDS
