KABUL - Veteran Taliban leader Mullah Agha Jan Mutasim has said the latest international push to revive the stalled Afghan peace talks “is a good step forward towards peace and all sides should fully benefit from the chance.
In his article, a copy of which is available with Pajhwok Afghan New, the former Taliban finance minister said he was happy over the renewed peace bid and hoped the peace talks would serve the national and Islamic interests by ending the war in Afghanistan.
Nearly two months ago, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US agreed at the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad to revive the Afghan peace process.
The first quadrilateral meeting of Afghanistan, US, Pakistan and China was held on Jan 8 in Islamabad and the second on Jan, 18 in Kabul discussing a roadmap for the peace process.
The third meeting of the four-nation group is slated for Feb. 6 in Islamabad.
“Dialogue is a good step towards achieving peace in the country. If honestly pursued, it would have good results,” he said.
Mutasim said the involvement of representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the US had increased the importance of the talks compared to the previous gatherings.
“It seems that the international community has decided to end the war in Afghanistan and let the Afghans resolve their issues through dialogue instead of war,” he said.
Although details of the Islamabad and Kabul meetings are yet to known, but generally it is believed the main agenda was achieving long-lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan through direct talks with the Taliban.
Mutasim suggested that the root causes of the war in Afghanistan should be identified and necessary measures taken to remove them.
All the stakeholders should consider the peace talks as a chance and should try to seize the opportunity, he said.
He feared if the opportunity was not properly utilised like the previous talks, the country would lead to anarchy and civil war.
All sides of the conflict in Afghanistan should think carefully and keep supreme the national and general interests of the country, he said. (Pajhwok)