President Ghani’s Special Envoy and head of the High Peace Council’s Secretariat, Mohammad Umer Daudzai, at a press conference on Sunday briefed the Afghan media about the first meeting of the newly-established Reconciliation Leadership Council which Daudzai said will create a “unified and clear” stance on the peace process.

A proposed list of the council, a copy of which was obtained by TOLOnews, shows that 37 individuals from senior government officials, former Jihadi leaders, prominent Afghan politicians, and civil society members are part of the council. 

Another list of 22 individuals, a copy of which obtained by TOLOnews, shows members of the negotiating team. 
Daudzai said the number of the council members will be increased in a bid to make it more inclusive. 

“The reason behind establishing the Reconciliation Leadership Council is to have a common view on peace from the stance of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan afterward. We will have a shared stance and we expect that we get a clear stance from the Taliban as well,” he said.  

He said that they made decisions on six issues in the first meeting of the council and that the next meeting will be held on Wednesday, April 10, where they will approve the final draft of the red lines for the peace process.

“The first decision which was made in the council’s meeting was about the red lines. We should have clear red lines when we attend peace and reconciliation negotiations,” he said. 

He said that former Jihadi leader Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf shouldered the responsibility to head a committee and prepare a list of Afghanistan government’s red lines which will be shared with the council on Wednesday. 

The second decision, he said, was about the list of delegates in Qatar meeting. “It was discussed that the Qatar meeting will not be in the form of negotiations, but it will be a platform to exchange views between different sides in attendance.”

He said that a “unified” team with a “clear” stance will attend the Qatar meeting. Daudzai said that Habiba Sarabi, Deputy Head of the High Peace Council, was assigned to chair a committee to work on the formation of a team which will attend the Qatar meeting – scheduled for April 14 and 15.

The next decision, he said, was about the formation and structure of the Reconciliation Leadership Council. “It was decided that those who attended the meeting are members of the council, but there is a need for increasing the number of members of the council.” 

He said that the High Peace Council’s Chairman Mohammad Karim Khalili took the responsibility to chair a committee on the formation of the council. 

Another decision, Daudzai says, was about determining the authorities of the negotiating team. “It was decided that the procedure and the activities of the negotiating team should be regulated in a way that responsibilities and authorities of the team will be in the light of the Constitution while considering equality between responsibility and authorities,” he said. 

He said that the Second Vice President Sarwar Danish was assigned to carry on the process.

Daudzai said that he was assigned as spokesman of the council. 

“And the last topic discussed in the meeting was that the council will decide on the drafts of the red lines, the formation of the Qatar delegation, the formation of the negotiating team, and authorities of the negotiating team will be proposed in the next meeting on Wednesday, April 10, and hopefully will be approved,” he said.

He said that Pakistan can play a role in the Afghan peace process but added that they hope the role should be “practical”. 

“Peace will benefit everyone,” Daudzai concluded.