Ghani meets with leading politicians to discuss peace process

President Ashraf Ghani met with the country’s political and jihadi leaders on Monday morning who stressed that the peace process is a priority for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and that “all further steps in this process, will be taken with the necessary understanding and consensus.”

Present at the meeting were Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation; Hamid Karzai, former president; Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, former Jihadi leader; Mohammad Sarwar Danesh, Second Vice President; Mohammad Younus Qanuni, former vice president; Fazl Hadi Muslimyar, Speaker of the Senate; Mir Rahman Rahmani, Speaker of the House of Representatives; Mohammad Karim Khalili, leader of the Islamic Unity Party; Mohammad Ismail Khan, a member of the leadership of the Islamic Jamiat of Afghanistan; and a number of other senior politicians and officials.

According to a statement issued by the Presidential Palace (ARG), the politicians also agreed a united front was necessary.

“It was also emphasized at the meeting that a united front and a strong political consensus were necessary to strengthen peace and stability, strengthen the republican system and support the country’s security forces and make strong use of the strong popular support for the republican system to consolidate stability,” ARG said.

Participants at the meeting also discussed Ghani and his entourage’s planned visit to the United States, which they called “significant.”

On Sunday, the White House announced that Ghani and Abdullah were scheduled to travel to the US on June 25.

US President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with the Afghan leaders to discuss continued US-Afghan cooperation, as well as the withdrawal of US troops from the country.