Election must be sacrificed for peace: Akbar Agha

The Solvation Path Council, a political movement, says that Afghan nation wants peace before election, calling on the government to avoid sabotaging the ongoing peace talks between Taliban and US representatives.
Head of the council and former Taliban official, Syed Akar Agha, told a press conference in Kabul that presidential election should be sacrificed for peace not the opposite.
“Holding election at present is injustice with the people of Afghanistan. If we hold election to respect the people’s vote, we should also respect their call for peace. The vast majority of Afghan people want peace before election,” Agha said.
Abdul Moez, another member of the council, also said that priority should be given to peace over election, claiming that holding the poll before peace means continuation of the war.
“Conducting presidential elections means that we continue the war, but the nation can no longer bear the death of innocent people, so instead of going to election, we should focus on bringing peace first,” he said.
Talking at a presser in Kabul, Mohammad Zaman Mozamel, a member of Hezb-e-Islami political party, said that ensuring peace should be a priority.
“It has been 40 years since we have been puppets of one or another, this slavery is enough, and our oppressed Afghans should be steered out of this slavery and imposed war,” he said.
Syed Akbar Agha told reporters that peace talks between the US and Taliban had accelerated and demanded the parties to the conflict to be ready for compromises for peace and stability in the country.
“Some progress has been made in the ongoing Qatar talks, no effort should be made to sabotage the process. It may get some more time to resolve the decade old conflict,” he said.
Former Head of the Independent Commission for the Oversight of the Implementation of the Constitution ICSIC, Gul Rahman Qazi said majority of the people wanted peace.
“Once peace prevail, opportunity will be smoother for launching free, fair and all inclusive election—a process to include the real intention of Afghan masses and everyone could take part in voting.”
According to him, engineered and rigged polls will bear nothing but to protract the war as well as killings, destructions and to give more room for further foreign interference.
This comes as campaign for the presidential election slated for September 28 has already been launched. At least four candidates have so far held major campaign rallies in capital Kabul.