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Afghan Constitution, Islamic Republic cannot be sacrificed in peace process: Saleh
First Vice President Amrullah Saleh says that the Afghan government is ready to compromise in talks with the Taliban but “not ready to abrogate the Afghan constitution.
In an interview with BBC on Thursday, Saleh emphasized that the Afghan government and Constitution cannot be sacrificed in the peace process
“We are ready for compromise but we do not want the constitution of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic to be the sacrificial goat for this for a very crude peace process.”
Saleh stressed that the sacrifice should lead to peace.
“It (sacrifice) should not be prelude another reason for another perpetual war in my in my country,” Saleh said.
This comes as an international summit on the Afghan peace process is due to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in mid-April.
VP Saleh stated that the Afghan government is ready to participate in the summit.
“We are going to Turkey with sincerity, with seriousness, and with conviction to bring peace… the ball is now in the court of the Taliban and the side of the Taliban to agree to a political settlement – they have not,” he told BBC correspondent Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur.
Meanwhile, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani presented his new three-phase peace roadmap to a number of high-ranking Afghan officials this week.
Ghani’s roadmap – from an unending war towards a just and lasting peace proposal includes three phases, a political agreement; a peace government; and peacebuilding, state-building, and market-building.
In the first phase, Ghani proposed a political settlement, an internationally monitored ceasefire, a regional and international guarantee of peace as well as continued counter-terrorism efforts, and the convening of a Loya Jirga to approve the agreement.
The second phase will be to hold a presidential election and establish a “government of peace” and implement arrangements to move towards a new political system.
The third phase will involve building a “constitutional framework, security, reintegration of refugees and considering government priorities” for Afghanistan’s development.
“Putting an end to the 42-year conflict is the main goal, not a peace that is the beginning of another war,” Ghani said while presenting his roadmap.
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Girls’ education is a ‘vital issue’ for Afghanistan: Karzai
Former president Hamid Karzai said in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador and special representative, Hassan Kazemi Qomi, that education of girls was a “vital issue” for Afghanistan.
Karzai said he appreciated Iran’s cooperation and its standing with the Afghan people, especially Iran’s contributions to education in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Karzai said peace and stability in the region are in the interest of all regional countries.
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Uzbekistan’s humanitarian aid arrives in Balkh
A shipment of humanitarian aid from Uzbekistan was handed over on Thursday to the local officials of Balkh province in the trade port of Hairatan.
Local authorities said the aid, which includes flour, oil, wheat, sugar and meat, has been handed over by Uzbekistan’s Surkhandarya governor to the governor of Balkh.
The governor of Surkhandarya stated the purpose of sending this aid was to support the people of Afghanistan and stressed the need for the development of good relations between the two countries.
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Afghanistan’s problems caused more damage to Pakistan than 3 wars with India: Durrani
Islamabad’s special envoy for Afghanistan Asif Durrani said on Wednesday that Pakistan has suffered more due to Afghanistan’s internal situation than Pakistan has suffered in three wars with India in terms of blood spilt and finances drained.
Durrani said at a one-day International Conference titled “Pakistan in the Emerging Geopolitical Landscape”, which was organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), that over 80,000 Pakistanis died in the two decades of the War on Terror and that his country was still counting its dead and injured.
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was hoped that peace in Afghanistan would bring peace to the region. However, such expectations were short-lived,” he said.
He also stated that attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group on Pakistan’s border areas increased by 65 percent, while suicide attacks increased by 500 percent.
“The TTP’s enhanced attacks on Pakistan while using Afghan soil have been a serious concern for Pakistan. Another worrying aspect is the participation of Afghan nationals in these attacks,” he said.
Durrani also said Pakistan had suffered geopolitically since the Soviet Union invaded the neighboring country.
“The post-9/11 world order has negatively impacted Pakistan. Apart from losing 80,000 citizens’ lives, including 8,000 law enforcement agency personnel, the country’s economic opportunity cost is estimated at $150 billion,” Durrani said.
Talking about the future outlook for Pakistan in the regional context, Durrani said that while “our eastern neighbor is likely to continue with its anti-Pakistan pursuits, the western border poses an avoidable irritant in the short to medium term.”
However, he said Pakistan can overcome its difficulties with Afghanistan, including the TTP challenge.
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