KABUL - Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Sunday warned certain Taliban factions against refusing to accept the peace process, adding that government will consider severe military action against those that continue to destabilize the country.
The remarks come a day ahead of a key meeting between representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, U.S and China in Islamabad to map out the peace framework with the militant group.
Last July, Pakistan hosted the first round of formal talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban; however the talks then stalled following the reported death of the group's longtime leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
On the eve of the Islamabad meeting, the Afghan officials vowed to take extensive military action against the Taliban factions that reject peace and promote war.
"If Pakistan realizes that it has the capacity of gathering all factions around the peace table, is it a good thing. If it does not have the capacity, we request Pakistan to prove its honesty and target the hideouts of those who deny peace," an Afghan senator said.
Referring to Pakistan's role in the Afghan peace dialogue with the Taliban, some Afghan senators on Sunday persuaded Islamabad to support Afghanistan in its attempts to broker groundbreaking talks with the hardline movement.
Concerns grew over the recent weeks that the talks would be more complicated in the wake of the split that emerged amongst the Taliban group following the death of their former leader Mullah Omar.
Meanwhile, the High Peace Council (HPC) said that the issue of the Taliban factions will also be taken into consideration during the talks.
"The quadrilateral meeting will also discuss the topic that which groups and who will participate in the coming two or three meetings," HPC member Maulavi Nuristani said.
A number of military experts meanwhile said the Afghan government should mount pressure on Islamabad to take action against those Taliban that still continue to denounce the peace process, calling on Islamabad to target their hideouts which they believe operate inside Pakistan's soil.
"If the government peace delegation succeeded to mount pressure on Pakistan to take actions against hideouts of such groups, I think this will be effective for strengthening peace in Afghanistan," university professor Sakhi Mohammadi said.
Sources close to the Presidential Palace have confirmed that two Taliban factions are likely to attend the peace talks in future.
The Afghan government has called on Pakistan to prove its sincerity toward the peace talks by March this year.
Sources have said that those Taliban factions that reject the peace process should be declared as terrorists by the four nations attending the Islamabad talks. (Tolonews)