All the 50 committees of the Grand Consultative Jirga on Peace on the fourth day of the event on Wednesday concluded their consultations on four pre-determined questions about the Afghan peace talks, some delegates acknowledged. 

The four questions that the delegates consulted on were:

• How to convince the Taliban for negotiations to end the war and bring peace and stability to the country?

• On which gains and values should the Afghan government insist during negotiations?

• According to your point of view, how the government’s negotiation team combination should look like and what characteristics the members should have?

• What policy the Afghan government should have toward its neighbors, especially the country that supports the Taliban financially and by arms?

“The questions were prepared by the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan based on the Jirga’s agenda,” said Jahan Zeb Sharifi, a spokesperson for the Jirga.

Heads of the committees delivered the results of their consultations to the administrative board and it is expected that they will issue a declaration on Friday about peace talks and how to bring peace in the country. 

The committees listed a number of demands of which the four main shared demands that were sent to the administrative board are ceasefire, troop withdrawal, talks with the Taliban, and preserving the gains. 

“They shared their demands and mostly they want peace and want the system and gains to be preserved and do not want the system to change,” said Andisha, a delegate. 

“Representatives from 34 provinces and also some members of the Jirga should be included (in the negotiation team). Its members should not have dual citizenship, and thirdly, the delegates should be from war victims, elites, politicians, civil society and youths,” said Masooma Hussaini, head of a committee. 

A number of the delegates raised concerns over what they said that a number of the members of the committees are insisting on imposing limitations on women. 

“Some figures showed sensitivity (against women) and had demands that women should not be in the way they are today,” said Maryam Muradi, a delegate. 

Other delegates said the four questions were specified by the Jirga’s secretariat ahead of the discussions and without any consultations with the committees. 

“This Jirga will give the president an authority that he can claim that the Jirga has given me the authorities and has conditioned and specified limitations for negotiations with the Taliban and this means undermining the process,” said Nazir Kabiri, a delegate. 

“The High Peace Council should be dissolved, because the real representatives of the people are not there,” said Allah Dad, head of a committee of the Peace Jirga. 

Head of the Jirga, Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, however, said the Jirga’s decisions will be in favor of the country.

It is expected that the administrative board will gather all the demands of the committees and issue a declaration on Friday. 

The peace Jirga was inaugurated on Monday, April 29, in which 3,200 delegates have attended from across the country. Jirga officials said out of the total number, 2,100 delegates have come from provinces.