KABUL - President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said peace agreement would never mean undermining the government and the Taliban but it would ensure dignity of the later.
Addressing the concluding session of the five-day Consultative Peace Jirga, the president said peace would mean investment on co-existence under single roof in which the dignity of the Taliban would be guaranteed.
“I want to tell the Taliban, we fight sometimes you win sometimes we win but the result is that common and poor people are in torment. Let’s respond to the voices of 31 million people and renounce violence so that peace is established in the country and fighting comes to end forever.”
“We often said and again want to repeat that we will facilitate the Taliban to become partner in the rehabilitation and development of the country not a group known for violence. This is my firm suggestion and I will stand by it.”
Addressing the Taliban Head Mullah Haibatullah, the president said: “I accept the decision of my people and would prove it in practice and now I would see that if Excellency Maulvi Haibatullah is ready to accept the demand of the people and what can he do.”
The president pledged to release 175 prisoners of the Taliban in the honour of the holy month of Ramazan and as gesture of good will and asked the Taliban to dispatch their representatives to Kabul and other provinces to receive their colleagues.
Ghani said that a peace in Afghanistan will help economic development in Pakistan. He said the Afghan govt wants a relationship with Pakistan which is based on mutual respect and friendship, which is clear and is an equal government-to-government relation.
“I want to tell the Pakistanis lets work for peace and cooperation and prove that it is not only the western countries who could resolve their issues but a rich civilization of human being existed in this part of the world as well and our rich Islamic civilization is rich than every other civilization,” he said. (Pajhwok)