Ashraf Ghani Offers To Forget Past And Start New Chapter With Pakistan; Asks Taliban To Accept Peace And Save The Country

Ashraf Ghani offers to forget past and start new chapter with Pakistan; Asks Taliban to accept peace and save the country

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said on Wednesday that Kabul is ready for talks with Pakistan, adding that they want to forget the past and start a new chapter

Kabul, (Pakistan Point News - 28th Feb, 2018) Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said on Wednesday that Kabul is ready for talks with Pakistan, adding that they want to forget the past and start a new chapter. Calling on Pakistan to hold government-to-government talks, Ghani said the best place to hold peace talks is Kabul. Ghani made the remarks during a speech at the opening of the Kabul Process for Peace and Security Cooperation which went under way today.

The conference, the first part of which was held in June last year, comprises representatives from around 25 countries, including Pakistan, and members of international organisations. The aim of the meeting is to find a settlement to the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan. In a message to the Taliban, the Afghan president said peace is in their hands today and called on the group to accept peace and come together to save this country. He said that the peace process and a ceasefire must be agreed upon and that Taliban must be declared a political group.

Ghani laid out several olive branches to the Taliban in his speech, saying the government will provide facilities and security to those who join the peace process, work on freeing prisoners, provide passports for Taliban members and their families and will issue visas, open an office for them including in Kabul and will also work to remove sanctions against Taliban leaders, according to Tolo news. Ghani thanked delegates from all the countries in attendance for their support over peace in Afghanistan and said the threats are increasing and the enemies of Afghanistan are transnational criminals.

He went on to say the Afghan government and the international community have analyzed the scale and scope of the threat and drafted numerous resolutions and agreements to address the threat, but consensus is still needed to take coordinated action among states to counter the threat. He told delegates: "Your presence here is a visible reminder that we are an international community united not only by shared threats, but shared interests and shared opportunities." Ghani also thanked India and Iran for their cooperation in the transit sector for Afghanistan.