The newly-established Reconciliation Leadership Council with an initial 37 members is expected to hold its second meeting on Wednesday to decide on major issues around peace, including naming a delegation to attend the Qatar meeting.
The first meeting of the council was held on Saturday, April 6, where the delegates discussed red lines for peace, the formation of the Reconciliation Council and authorities of government’s negotiating team among other topics around the peace process.
“Afghanistan’s red lines will be discussed in talks with armed opponents, the structure of a broad-based national delegation and also the finalization of the delegation which will go to Qatar and exchange views with the Taliban, will be the key agendas of the second meeting of the Reconciliation Council,” said Omid Maisam, deputy spokesman for Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.
A leaked list of members of the council shows that only two women have been assigned as its members.
“We continue our efforts to include more women in the structure of the leadership of this council,” said Habiba Sarabi, deputy head of the High Peace Council.
This comes two days after the Afghan government announced that it had prepared two lists of 22 individuals for peace negotiations with the Taliban and a list of 37 people as members of the Council for Reconciliation.
“Even if the structure is not inclusive, we want peace to be restored in our country,” said Sayed Ishaq Gailani, head of the National Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, some sources within the government talked about a possible delay of the Consultative Jirga on Peace, something the Jirga organizing committee has rejected. The Jirga has been scheduled for April 29.
“All preparations and arrangements are completed for holding the peace Jirga. Elections have been held. Work has been done on 20 percent of the districts and even permits were delivered to some of the Jirga delegates,” said Sayed Ali Kazimi, a spokesman for the Jirga.
Next week’s Qatar meeting which will bring Afghan politicians together also provides the first platform for peace in the country where representatives from the Afghan government and the Taliban will present their views on the ongoing and the political settlement in the country under a single roof.
While Taliban insists that no one will attend the Qatar meeting as a representative of the Afghan government, but officials from the National Unity Government on Monday said that a delegation will represent the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan at the meeting which is scheduled for April 14.
“Taliban cannot determine stance for us,” said Fraidoon Khozzon, a spokesman for Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah’s office. “The Afghan government delegation will portray about the stance of the Afghan government at the meeting.”
Meanwhile, 12 out 18 presidential candidates in a joint statement said the newly-established Reconciliation Leadership Council “is not inclusive” and that they were not consulted on the formation of the council.
The candidates said the council is not acceptable to them and they want changes in its structure.
The candidates who opposed the council’s combination are:
• Ahmad Wali Massoud
• Ibrahim Alokozay
• Abdul Hakim Torsan
• Rahmatullah Nabil
• Shahab Hakimi
• Shaida Mohammad Abdali
• Enayatullah Hafiz
• Ghulam Farooq Nijrabi
• Faramarz Tamanna
• Mohammad Haneef Atmar
• Noor Rahman Liwal
• Noorul Haq Ulumi
