Gov’t, Taliban Direct Talks Would Bring Peace In Afghanistan: Ghani

President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday that only “direct talks” between the Afghan government and the Taliban would pave the way to lasting peace in Afghanistan.

In an Interview with the NHK WORLD News in Tokyo, Japan, Ghani has expressed hope of holding direct talks with the Taliban insurgent group to achieve peace in the war-weary country.

Expressing his displeasure about Kabul’s exclusion from the negotiations, Ghani said that a possible U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan should be discussed with the Afghan government.

“Peace will only come when the legitimate government of Afghanistan and the Taliban enter into direct negotiations,” Ghani said.

However, the Taliban insurgent group has continuously refused to talk directly with the Afghan government, calling it a “puppet regime” of the US.

Meanwhile, Ghani said he would be delighted if the group turn itself into a political party, stressing that the group should try to make their voices heard through elections rather than resorting to violence.

“We welcome them if the Taliban turn themselves into a political party would be delighted,” Ghani added.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief negotiator of the U.S. held nine rounds of talks with the Taliban representatives in Doha, the capital of Qatar, in a year where the two sides had reached an agreement “in principle” but the process was called off by U.S. President Donald Trump.

It comes as a fresh round of intra-Afghan peace talks will be held in China on October 28 and 29, a Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Tuesday.