(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News) KABUL
On February 28, President Ashraf Ghani outlined a new roadmap for peace and said his government wanted to enter a ceasefire with the Taliban without any preconditions.
He had said the government would negotiate with the Taliban wherever they wanted.'If they promise shunning the insurgency, Taliban prisoners may be freed and their names struck off international blacklists…'
However, the Taliban have not yet formally responded to the offer from the president, who has also expressed his readiness to issue passports to militant leaders.
At a joint press conference with pro-government religious scholars here, HPC SecretaryMohammad Akram Khpalwak urged the Taliban to keep in view Islamic principles and national interestin responding to the latest offer.
'We are waiting for a direct response from the Taliban after the second conference of Kabul Process. If they are ready for peace, we can provide them all facilities,' the HPC official said.
But if the insurgent movement ignored the peace overture from the president, they would have no place in the government and Afghan society
The Taliban's political office in Qatarcould not be a venue for negotiations with the government he explained. Some Taliban leaders had long been in Doha, but their office did not exist there, he said.
Khpalwak hoped the upcoming 1397 solar year
Over the last six months, he acknowledged, all segments of society, including ulema
He said more than 350 meetings were organised on the peace process, with all participantssuggesting negotiations with the Taliban and including them in the national mainstream.
About contacts with ulema of other countries, he said: 'We have been able to reach an agreement with Indonesian scholars on organising a trilateral conference involving ulema from Afghanistan, Pakistan
Khpalwak announced another conference on the peace process would be arranged by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the next few months. The HPC supportsthe move.
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'The Afghanistan Ulema Council and other scholars have been supportiveof peace meetings. They view such gathering as useful for the countryand humanity,' he observed.
He hailed the latest peace proposal to the Taliban as a complete and comprehensive plan and there was no reason for the militants to reject it.
He called for the fighters to embrace peace and enter peace dialogue with the government.Baligh thanked Indonesia for its initiative to help bring peace to Afghanistan, hoping the Jakarta meeting would be fruitful.
The Afghanistan Ulema Council would spare no effortat ensuring peace in the war-torn country, he concluded.
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