President Ashraf Ghani’s special envoy for regional affairs on consensus for peace and head of the High Peace Council (HPC) secretariat, Umer Daudzai, on Wednesday said that peace will come to Afghanistan in the near future and that good improvements have been made in this regard.
Addressing an event in Kabul, Daudzai said Afghans want a lasting peace in the country and that people will witness a group in the near future which will work on a peace deal.
“Soon you will witness a team that will start work on the peace deal and peace is near; not in the coming days but in the coming months,” Daudzai said.
Daudzai said peace is the right way to solve Afghanistan’s problems.
“The idea of eliminating the Taliban was incorrect while now powerful countries have come to the conclusion that the idea was wrong,” he said. “Powerful countries were failed in eliminating the Taliban, but they also had a successes and that success is that we possess a security and defense force which we are proud of and their work is acceptable,” Daudzai said.
According to Daudzai, there has been a change in neighboring countries’ policies towards Afghanistan.
“Recently, I see evidences and signs which some neighboring countries are reviewing their policies and we hope that this review is correct and hope that we can live as two good neighbors. We welcome a change in their policies and we commend them,” he said.
Daudzai expressed optimism on Taliban’s change of behavior and called it a good opportunity.
“We also see changes in the Taliban’s approach. The peace is also considered between the Taliban and this is a good opportunity,” Daudzai said. “The right time has come to join the convoy of the peace process. The High Peace Council is leading the peace convoy because it is the only institution which has taken its legitimacy from the nation.”
According to him, the Afghan peace requires three types of consensus: internal consensus, international consensus and regional consensus.
“Their representatives are coming and consulting to work on five-year post-peace deal strategy so that how Taliban will be a normal part of the society,” Daudzai said.
Daudzai’s remarks come a day after the US and Taliban officials held talks in UAE where representatives of the Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will also present.
Talking on the US, Taliban talks, the deputy spokesperson of the US Department of State, Robert Palladino, said the meetings in Abu Dhabi are part of United States efforts to promote an intra-Afghan dialogue towards ending the conflict in Afghanistan.
“I’ve seen some of the reports and characterizing things. I mean, the meetings in Abu Dhabi are part of United States efforts to promote an intra-Afghan dialogue towards ending the conflict in Afghanistan. And this is part of our South Asia strategy, and we have long said that war in Afghanistan will only end when Afghans sit together with mutual respect and acceptance, discuss a political roadmap for their future. So our efforts and those of our partners are focused on this objective right now,” Pallandino said as quoted in a statement by the US Embassy in Kabul.
“Now, Special Representative Khalilzad, he is in the region, and he has in the past been meeting and will continue to meet with all interested parties to support a negotiated settlement to this conflict. And so others are coming together, and we continue to push this forward,” he said.
On a question about whether the US is discussing a six-month ceasefire and the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan, the spokesman said: “Well, I’m not going to be able to discuss details of private diplomatic conversations. But the United States military presence in Afghanistan remains conditions-based, and that’s the cornerstone of the administration’s strategy. The special representative continues to work with all interested parties in close coordination with the Afghan people and the Afghan Government to facilitate intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations.”
