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تصویر بندانگشتی

Afghan Govt 'Flexible' With Peace Process: Omer

President Ashraf Ghani has rejected the prospect of an interim government and has emphasized that the election is the main route to the transfer of power, while his adviser on Sunday said that the Afghan government has so far maintained a flexible stance toward peace so that the Taliban would stop “killing Afghans” and that they would share their demands at the table of negotiations. 

President Ghani’s adviser on public and strategic affairs, Waheed Omer, said that the government is ready to talk about any demand by the Taliban at the table of negotiations. 

He said the government has taken important steps for peace, but the Taliban has not addressed any of its commitments.

“On behalf of the government, we announce that the demand of the Afghan people and the world is ceasefire. We are ready for ceasefire--if the Taliban announces its readiness for ceasefire so that there is no bloodshed of Afghans anymore,” Omer said. “After that, we are ready at the table of the negotiations at this moment to discuss any matter, to convince and to be convinced.” 

“No country or source has officially raised the issue of an interim government. It is not considered under the current circumstances,” said Rasul Talib, a member of the negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 

Some former government officials said that President Ghani has not succeeded in building a successful republic.  

“The system should be saved from collapse even if there is a need for sacrifice by individuals and politicians. We should find a central point. We should fine a middle point,” said Rahmatullah Nabil, former head of the NDS.  
 
The Taliban deputy negotiator Abbas Stanekzai remarked on Friday saying that if President Ashraf Ghani steps down from his post, they (the Taliban) are ready to join the government on the spot.  
 
Stanekzai at his press conference in Moscow said that President Ghani’s administration is the "main” obstacle to peace efforts, to which President Ghani responded by saying this is not the case. 
 
Talking at an online program hosted by the Aspen Institute on Friday, Ghani rejected the prospect of the establishment of an interim government in the country, referring to lessons of past experience, saying that he has sworn to uphold the Constitution of the nation.   
 
“We must agree on the date of the election so that we have the full legal transfer of authority. We have had interim governments. They’ve led to bloodshed. People of Kabul: Kabul was destroyed in 1992 by an interim government. A prime minister was bombarding his president and the president had to fight back against the prime minister. The prime minister, Mr. Hekmatyar, never came to Kabul,” Ghani said. 
 
Sources close to the Taliban rejected an early election for the transfer of power to an interim government. 
 
“The Taliban never has the plan of partnership with the incumbent government,” said Faiz Mohammad Zaland, a university lecturer. “The Taliban does not want to partner with Dr. Ashraf Ghani and then there is an election so that power is shared.” 
 
The second round of the peace talks started three weeks ago but the Taliban has raised new demands like the release of 7,000 prisoners and the removal of their names from backlists in order to move the negotiations forward. 
 
This comes as a Taliban delegation has traveled to Iran. Another delegation of the group has traveled to Moscow.  
 
A Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with Iran's FM Javad Zarif in Tehran and discussed issues relating to both countries and to the region, the peace process, the implementation of the Doha agreement, and the need for peace. 
 
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a meeting with the Taliban in Tehran welcomed the “idea of the formation of an all-inclusive government with the participation of all ethnic and political groups in Afghanistan.”

Afghan Govt 'Flexible' With Peace Process: Omer

Omer said the government has taken important steps for peace, but the Taliban has not addressed any of its commitments.

تصویر بندانگشتی

President Ashraf Ghani has rejected the prospect of an interim government and has emphasized that the election is the main route to the transfer of power, while his adviser on Sunday said that the Afghan government has so far maintained a flexible stance toward peace so that the Taliban would stop “killing Afghans” and that they would share their demands at the table of negotiations. 

President Ghani’s adviser on public and strategic affairs, Waheed Omer, said that the government is ready to talk about any demand by the Taliban at the table of negotiations. 

He said the government has taken important steps for peace, but the Taliban has not addressed any of its commitments.

“On behalf of the government, we announce that the demand of the Afghan people and the world is ceasefire. We are ready for ceasefire--if the Taliban announces its readiness for ceasefire so that there is no bloodshed of Afghans anymore,” Omer said. “After that, we are ready at the table of the negotiations at this moment to discuss any matter, to convince and to be convinced.” 

“No country or source has officially raised the issue of an interim government. It is not considered under the current circumstances,” said Rasul Talib, a member of the negotiating team of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 

Some former government officials said that President Ghani has not succeeded in building a successful republic.  

“The system should be saved from collapse even if there is a need for sacrifice by individuals and politicians. We should find a central point. We should fine a middle point,” said Rahmatullah Nabil, former head of the NDS.  
 
The Taliban deputy negotiator Abbas Stanekzai remarked on Friday saying that if President Ashraf Ghani steps down from his post, they (the Taliban) are ready to join the government on the spot.  
 
Stanekzai at his press conference in Moscow said that President Ghani’s administration is the "main” obstacle to peace efforts, to which President Ghani responded by saying this is not the case. 
 
Talking at an online program hosted by the Aspen Institute on Friday, Ghani rejected the prospect of the establishment of an interim government in the country, referring to lessons of past experience, saying that he has sworn to uphold the Constitution of the nation.   
 
“We must agree on the date of the election so that we have the full legal transfer of authority. We have had interim governments. They’ve led to bloodshed. People of Kabul: Kabul was destroyed in 1992 by an interim government. A prime minister was bombarding his president and the president had to fight back against the prime minister. The prime minister, Mr. Hekmatyar, never came to Kabul,” Ghani said. 
 
Sources close to the Taliban rejected an early election for the transfer of power to an interim government. 
 
“The Taliban never has the plan of partnership with the incumbent government,” said Faiz Mohammad Zaland, a university lecturer. “The Taliban does not want to partner with Dr. Ashraf Ghani and then there is an election so that power is shared.” 
 
The second round of the peace talks started three weeks ago but the Taliban has raised new demands like the release of 7,000 prisoners and the removal of their names from backlists in order to move the negotiations forward. 
 
This comes as a Taliban delegation has traveled to Iran. Another delegation of the group has traveled to Moscow.  
 
A Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said that the Taliban deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with Iran's FM Javad Zarif in Tehran and discussed issues relating to both countries and to the region, the peace process, the implementation of the Doha agreement, and the need for peace. 
 
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a meeting with the Taliban in Tehran welcomed the “idea of the formation of an all-inclusive government with the participation of all ethnic and political groups in Afghanistan.”

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