Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Ex-Jihadis Form Party, Vow to Broker Peace Talks

Ex-Jihadis Form Party, Vow  to Broker Peace Talks

KHOST CITY - A newly-created political foundation of former jihadi figures has decided to make efforts at brokering peace talks between the government and the Taliban, a member of the party said on Sunday.
The creation of the new party “Grand Council of Afghanistan Mujahideen’ was announced on Sunday in southeastern Khost province.
The council’s head, Mulavi Mohammad Sardar Zadran, said they wanted to strengthen their relations with the Taliban in order encourage them for peace talks with the government.
“The Afghan government should hand over the peace campaign to former mujahideen and religious scholars because only they can understand the words of each other,” he said.
Zadran asked Taliban militants to shun insurgency and reconcile with the government for the sake of Afghanistan’s development.
“We call on the Taliban to join the peace process instead of shedding blood as it would help Afghanistan become a developed country,” he added.
He said the main goal behind the creation of the council was to bring peace and stability to the country and provide an environment for Taliban to join the Afghan government.
The main office of the Grand Council of Afghanistan Mujahideen would be established in capital Kabul and its branches opened in provinces, Zadran said.
However, a member of the council, Gul Qasim Jahadyar, said some members of the council had been involved in fighting against Taliban for years.
“If the Afghan government really wants peace then the High Peace Council (HPC) should be dissolved and former jihadi figures and ulema should be given to the task to lead the peace process,” he said.
“Some HPC officials are involved in war crimes. Peace cannot be achieved by such people. The peace process should be brokered by honest people,” he said.
Political analyst and civil society activist Zahid Shah Angar said any foundation having former mujahideen and ulema as its members would have more influence on the society.
He said the peace process would be effective if Ulema and former Mujhaideen were given a major role in the process.
“I think any movement which represents public demands would be more effective whether it is an opposition party or any other movement,” Angar said.
The participants of the ceremony criticised the government for paying no attention to the role of Ulema and Mujahideen during the past 14 years. (Pajhwok)