KABUL (SW) – Months after its formation, the High Council of National Reconciliation held its maiden meeting at the presidency under joint chairmanship of its chairman Abdullah Abdullah and President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani.
The moot was attended by political leaders, party leaders, senior parliamentarians, and representatives of civil society and women.
Speaking on the occasion, President Ghani stressed the need for ongoing consultations on the peace process to continue. Ghani stated this gathering of senior politicians sends across a clear message of unity to Afghanistan’s allies in the region and the world, the negotiating team and the people of Afghanistan.
Expressing gratitude to the government’s negotiating team for advancing the talks in Doha, the president said that the peace talks had entered the second phase. “The first phase of the peace talks showed that it was not an easy task, but it came to fruition,” he added.
Ghani emphasizes the need for ongoing consultation on the peace process to continue.
On his term, Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the HCNR, said the peace deal would not mean going back to the past, but it does require sacrifice. He emphasized that peace must unite everyone. Abdullah described the raging violence as an obstacle to the peace process.
Abdullah dubbed the maiden meeting of the HCNR as an important step towards strengthening the national consensus, and said that under the political agreement, the government’s negotiating team needed the committee’s guidance.
He added that peace and preserving the country’s basic institutions and achievements remains the will of the people.
Former President Hamid Karzai suggested other figures should also be invited to join the leadership committee of the HCNR. He added that people have fallen victim to the goals of others and now that they understand, serious attention must be paid to achieving peace.
Senior Jehadi figure Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf emphasized on strengthening the relationship between the people and the government. He said in the peace process, independence and national interests of the country must be preserved. He called on the HCNR to announce its support for the government’s negotiating team.
Former vice president Mohammad Yunus Qanuni urged President Ghani and chairman Abdullah not to politicize the peace process, which is a national endeavor.
The HCNR was established in late May this year with the signing of a political agreement between President Ashraf Ghani and his rival candidate Abdullah Abdullah. However, the council had not yet met since then. It currently has some 45 members.
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