Presidential candidate Mohammad Hakim Torsan who is known for his controversial remarks on Thursday held his first election campaign where he showed that he is not expressed that there will be either election or an interim government in order to move forward the ongoing peace efforts. 

Mr. Torsan said the Taliban will enter a new political stage with an ideology which differs from their previous mindset when they ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s. 

“I am assuring you that the people are not like the past who will bear the Taliban’s ‘lashing’ and neither the Taliban is the past’s Taliban who ruled Afghanistan with a different ideology. The Taliban will be only part of the government of Afghanistan,” Mr. Torsan said, giving a picture about a future government after a peace deal with the Taliban.  

Mr. Torsan vowed to hold accountable those who are “corrupt” and have those who have “committed crime” against the people of Afghanistan. 

“I will hold them [government officials] accountable and will send them behind bars and will give them capital punishment after the court’s ruling. I mean it,” Mr. Torsan said.  

Mr. Torsan was the ninth presidential candidate who appears at a campaign rally almost a month after the process began.