Former president Hamid Karzai on Wednesday said that he sees Afghanistan in a highly sensitive stage of the history, asking the Afghan people to take care of the recent peace efforts initiated by the United States.
He said that the peace efforts should not be carried out in secret from the eyes of the Afghan people, warning that Afghanistan would be devastated if the neighboring countries were not taken into confidence, especially Russia and China.
“We should have our own national observation of the peace process from the beginning to the end and Afghans must be involved in peace in all stages and they should have the honor of the job. In area where we are not involved and we are not owning the job, the outcome will not be in our favor,” Karzai said.
Karzai suggested that the Afghan government should designate a national peace delegation to conduct the peace talks with the Taliban.
Speaking at a gathering in Kabul marking the 90th birth anniversary of Afghan famous philosopher Syed Bahauddin Majroh, Karzai said that the peace efforts by the US and the recent peace conference on Afghanistan in Russia was quite important for restoring peace in the country.
He said that the US and Russia should coordinate their peace efforts.
“If the US is serious about bringing peace in Afghanistan, then it should reach a conclusion with China and Russia and major countries. If the US does not coordinate about peace in Afghanistan with these countries, the peace process would mean something else, but not an effort for peace in Afghanistan,” said Karzai.
He said that the US should not deal with Pakistan on the Afghan peace.
“We completely differentiate the fact that what the Afghan peace means and what is the issue between the US and Pakistan. Our country was devastated just because of foreign deals,” he said.
Meanwhile, former national security advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta also addressed the gathering in which he highlighted the legacy of Majroh.
Referring to the killing of Majroh in Pakistan, Spanta said that Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been a slaughterhouse of the Afghan intellectuals.
“One of the most painful and ridiculous approach is that we honor and remember the martyrs and the victims and sit to mourn them, we appraise their legacy, but at the same time, we pay respect to their killers and praise them too and call them great and leader,” said Spanta
Karzai reiterated that he is still opposed to the bombing of US forces in which civilians are being killed.
Karzai stated that he fully supports the peace efforts by Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, but added that these talks must be carried out by the Afghans.
The remarks come as Ambassador Khalilzad started his multi-nation tour for Afghan peace this week. On Tuesday, he visited Pakistan where he met with Pakistani officials in Islamabad.
