Abdullah says HCNR working only for peace

Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation on Monday said that High Council for National Reconciliation is not carrying out any work that is parallel to that done by the government. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the commission on development programs and attracting global assistance for the High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah said that a lot of the commission’s work covers a post-peace period, by establishing coordination mechanisms to advance the peace process during the negotiations and after a hoped-for peace accord.

The commission was set up at Abdullah’s request and by presidential decree to coordinate global assistance regarding the Afghan peace process.

“There is no parallel work being done by the commission against government. All coordination programs are for the progress of the peace process,” Abdullah said.

The deputy head of the HCNR, who is in charge of leading the development program commission, said that the commission has started its work, to generate funding, so as to list donor institutions, appoint leadership members and make draft plans.

“We have started practical work. This is not premature and we have a lot of achievements in this regard, such as creating a list of donor institutions,” said Attaullah Salim, the commission deputy.

The Ministry of State for Peace Affairs, which is a member of the commission, says that there is a need for foundation work in this commission to facilitate the peace process.

“All work should be done to create shortcuts and ways to achieve peace and use the funding to support the process,” said Abdullah Khenjani, deputy minister for the Ministry of State for Peace Affairs.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Finance says that Afghanistan needs international assistance if the peace process is successful by 2030, because the country has a financial deficit of $8 billion a year.

“Figures from the Ministry of Finance show that public spending is 75 percent dependent on global aid, which covers Afghanistan’s $8 billion a year financial gap,” said Nazir Kabiri, deputy minister of finance.

The High Council for National Reconciliation has inaugurated the commission for development programs and assistance, while the council has not yet benefited from an independent government budget.