January 03, 2018.
President Ashraf Ghani’s special envoy and High Peace Council (HPC) Secretariat head said on Wednesday he would visit Pakistan soon for talks on regional consensus on peace.
Mohammad Omer Daudzai hoped that 2019 would be the year of peace for Afghanistan. “We really want to achieve peace,” said the former Afghan ambassador to Pakistan.
Addressing a gathering of HPC members and civil society representatives here, the presidential aide said: “We should have a regional consensus and our first trip will be to Pakistan next week.”
After his visit to the neighbouring country, a decision would be taken on whether or not he should go Iran as well in quest of support for the Afghan peace process, added Daudzai.
However, the presidential advisor acknowledged three key questions regarding a peace deal with the insurgents were yet to be answered with clarity:
What do regional countries want to achieve in Afghanistan?
What do the Taliban want, an Islamic emirate or becoming part of the current system?
What price will the Afghans pay for a peace agreement with the insurgent movement?
In order to find convincing answers to the three vital questions, the official said, they were holding consultations with the people. Kabul’s redlines and flexibility in negotiations with the Taliban came up for discussion at the gathering.
Source: Daily Outlook Afghanistan
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