Abdullah addresses HCNR meeting, confirms talks to resume January 5

Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation on Saturday confirmed the second round of peace talks will resume on January 5. 

He did not state where the talks would be held but did say “the venue for the talks should not be an obstacle.”

This comes after numerous calls have been made in the past few weeks by public figures, including Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, for the talks to move from Doha, Qatar, to Afghanistan. 

Government officials have said the talks are between Afghans and should therefore be held on Afghan soil. However, no indication has yet been made as to whether the talks will continue in Doha or whether they will be moved to a new location. 

In a series of tweets, Abdullah said on Saturday the talks team would report to the HCNR, and specifically to the Leadership Council. 

“You will report to the HCNR, and to the Leadership Committee. We are here to listen to you, and support you at all levels. The LC meetings will take place on a regular basis,” he said. 

“You are representing the Republic of Afghanistan, and it’s great people. You can enter into talks with Taliban, and discuss all the topics of the agenda. You have to demonstrate that peace is a priority for the republic,” Abdullah said. 

“I thank all the leaders, members of LC and prominent personalities attending today’s LC’s meeting for demonstrating unity, and for their unanimous support for the peace process, and the republic’s negotiation team, and referring to the HCNR as the only body to represent the peace efforts,” he said.

Other prominent figures, including First Vice President Amrullah Saleh and former president Hamid Karzai also addressed the meeting. 

Karzai said the talks team was doing a good job but that Afghans were in urgent need of peace. 

Saleh in turn stated the Afghan war was extremely complicated and that external influence was much greater than internal interference. 

He also warned against the further killing of elders, activists and journalists and said the peace process will be impacted by this if it carries on. 

This is the second formal meeting of the HCNR this month.

On December 5, Ghani inaugurated the first meeting after having established the council a few months ago.