- Ashraf Ghani offers talks to Afghan Taliban ‘without preconditions’
KABUL: 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, according to Tolo News.
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 underway on Wednesday.
The conference, the first part of which was held in June last year, comprises representatives from 20 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.
INVITATION TO TALIBAN:
In his speech, Ghani laid out several olive branches to the Taliban, 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.
He added that the peace process and a ceasefire must be agreed upon and that Taliban must be declared a political group.
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 together.
Earlier, Ghani said consensus is still needed to take coordinated action among states to counter the threat faced by Afghanistan.
Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani in his opening remarks said that peace in Afghanistan would benefit the whole region and the world at large.