Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the leader of Hezb-e-Islami party has urged the Taliban to attend the Istanbul Summit, scheduled to draw up a peace roadmap for Afghanistan along with the US, UN and Qatar, and use it as an opportunity.
The Taliban should negotiate with the Afghan people if they want peace, said Hekmatyar at a news conference in Kabul on Saturday. According to Hekmatyar, the Taliban have passed the stage of negotiating with the Americans.
He stressed that not announcing a ceasefire during the negotiations by the Taliban is not in the interest of this group and creates a negative mentality towards the Taliban in the world and among the people of Afghanistan.
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar also told the Taliban to present “their side” to the world at the Istanbul summit if they had strong and justified reasons for their position. “Someone who has good reasons should not be afraid to negotiate with anyone,” he said.
The Hezb-e-Islami leader also spoke about the withdrawal of troops by September 11 and said that the delay in the troop drawdown from Afghanistan was not for logistical reasons, but for political reasons, which the US has so far not shared with the people of Afghanistan.
“Withdrawal of troops is a step forward, but it was a decision unilaterally made in violation of the Doha agreement and would not help resolve the Afghan crisis,” he added.
The US, UN and Qatar are planning a peace summit in Istanbul with the Afghan government and the Taliban to chalk out a future roadmap for the country. Taliban has refused to participate in any peace talks till the troops have been withdrawn, while the Afghan government is ready with a unified peace plan for the April 24 summit.