KABUL (SW): President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday called upon the Taliban to shun violence and become a political party obeying the Constitution and scraping ties to terrorist groups.
Ghani outlined the government’s comprehensive peace strategy towards the Taliban at the Kabul Process international conference attended by representatives of more than 20 countries and international organizations. He said the offer for peace is unconditional. Highlighting the contours for the potential peace deal, Ghani said the Constitution shall be held supreme guaranteeing the rights of the citizens, especially women, and no armed group with ties to foreign terrorist organizations shall be allowed in Afghanistan.
For confidence-building measures, the President said ceasefire shall be enforced, a political framework shall be established and steps taken to free the Taliban prisoners as well as removing sanctions imposed on the group. The Afghan President underlined the need to re-integrate the Taliban in the political and economic spheres while stressing upon the importance of international backing for the course.
“To give assurances to Pakistan for the interests of a stable Afghanistan, initiation of state-to-state talks, and joint and coordinated efforts to support offer for talks with the Taliban”, he said in regard to the neighboring Pakistan, which is believed to have significant clout over the Taliban. He also called on Pakistan to hold talks government to government and said: “We will be ready to starts talks with Pakistan and forget the past and start a new chapter.”
The President announced the Afghan government will provide passports to Taliban members and their families and will issue visas, open an office for them – even in Kabul – and will also work to remove sanctions against Taliban leaders.
Full speech: https://president.gov.af/ps/news/000790
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