KABUL - Almost 200 people staged a protest in Kabul on Thursday, demanding that a peace process, proposed by a woman member of the Wolesi Jirga, be implemented forthwith.
On July 14, MP Huma Sultani told a press conference that she had prepared an outline of reconciliation that was presented to Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar a year ago.
The legislator said she had talked to Mullah Omar in an area 150 kilometers from Kabul and he told her the insurgent movement was ready for peace with the government.

Maulvi Abdul Baseer, Sultani's partner, said national unity, supremacy of law, women's rights and their equal representation in government were the salient features of her plan.
However, both the Afghan government and Taliban strongly rejected the lawmaker's claim.

Muhammad Zahir Arifi, a religious scholar who led the protest, said if the government did not pay attention to Sultani's proposals, they would stage more demonstrations. "Huma Sultani can bring peace to Afghanistan and that's all."

If their demand was ignored, they would initiate tougher actions, warned Ahmad Mustafa, another protestor. However, he did not elaborate on the actions.

The protestors chanted "Death to Obama, death to Karzai, we want peace." The one-hour protest started from the Allauddin area and ended in Deh Mazang Square.

In a resolution, the demonstrators said they acknowledged efforts by the High Peace Council (HPC), but the war in Afghanistan was not a face-to-face fight that the council would be able to end.
"In fact, the war in Afghanistan is an intelligence war and a proper strategy is needed to tackle it," the resolution said.