(MENAFN- Daily Outlook Afghanistan) Mr. Bass says peace is thehighest priority for the US because it the highest priority of Afghans.
KABUL - The US Ambassador inKabul, John Bass, who visited the northern province of Balkh on Saturday, saidthat both election and peace are important but peace in Afghanistan is the'highest priority for the United States because it is the highest priority forthe Afghan people as well.
The ninth round of peace talksbetween the US and the Taliban began on Thursday, August 22, with the hope thatthe two sides will reach a final agreement on four key issues under debate,mainly the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country and intra-Afghannegotiations.
The Afghan presidentialelection is scheduled for September 28, but some presidential candidates andpoliticians have recently expressed their skepticism on whether the polls willbe held on its scheduled time.
Mr. Bass said the Afghanelection should be held on its scheduled time if there is a hurdle in the wayof the peace process.
'Both are important for theUnited States. Peace is our highest priority because it is also the highestpriority of the Afghan people. And every day, we have Afghans telling us thatpeace is their highest priority, Mr. Bass said. 'So, we are working very hardto create that opportunity for Afghans to sit together, to negotiate, to workout their differences and to try to achieve a durable peace agreement which isaccepted by most of the people of this country and is therefore implemented.
In response to a question aboutUS forces withdrawal from Afghanistan, Mr. Bass said that the United States andits allies will have confidence that there will be no threat against othercountries from Afghanistan.
'My government and othergovernments have a confidence that we will not face terrorist attacks frominside Afghanistan in the future and if the Talibs want to see intentionalforces depart, then they are going to have to demonstrate how it is that theywill help ensure that there are no future terrorist threats against the UnitedStates or our allies and partners from Afghanistan, he said.
Meanwhile, Balkh governorMohammad Ishaq Rahguzar said that the peace talks, the election, and securitywere the main agenda of his meeting with the US ambassador.
'We discussed how to increaseour operations against militants and undertake plans to prevent the militantsfrom disrupting the elections or the security of the province, he said.
The US envoy's trip to Balkhcomes as the residents of the province recently expressed their concerns overthe security of the province and said it will not allow them to show a widepresence in the upcoming presidential election.
This comes as a former memberof the Taliban says the agreement between the US and the Taliban will befinalized within the next few days as the ninth round of the negotiations beganin Doha on Thursday.
Abdul Salam Zaeef, who servedas Taliban's ambassador for Pakistan when the group ruled the country in thelate 1990s, told TOLOnews on Friday that the deputy leader of the group, MullahAbdul Ghani Baradar will sign the peace agreement with the US.
Mr. Zaeef said the USnegotiators want to mention in the agreement that the Taliban will not have anyrelations with terrorist groups after the peace agreement.
The two sides in Doha areexpected to discuss ways to implement the peace agreement. A Taliban spokesmansaid that the US forces top commander Gen. Scott Miller was also present on thefirst day of the talks in Doha.
Mr. Zaeef said the US and theTaliban have agreed on a full withdrawal of foreign forces in 15 to 24 monthsand on counterterrorism assurances. (Tolo news)
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