Daudzai urges Taliban to attend consultative peace Jirga

KABUL to specify their demands regarding peace and national consensus.

Daudzai, also President Ashraf Ghani’s special regional envoy for developing regional consensus on peace, told a consultative conference of religious scholars in Kabul that after a wide range decision with a number of tribal elders, scholars and people from all walks of life, another 500 seats for real representatives of the people were added to the Jirga.

Earlier, a commission tasked with convening the Consultative Loya Jirga on peace led Daudzai said that 2,500 individuals would take part in the Jirga but today Daudzai said around 3,000 people would participate in the event.

He said the Jirga participants would be 1,500 selected individuals from provinces, 250 members of parliament, 750 people from different ethnicities, 423 from Provincial Councils and 30 percent of the Jirga participants would be women.

He said the purpose of the mammoth gathering was to seek a national consensus on peace and ensure sustainable peace prevailed in the country.

“Another purpose is that the Loya Jirga may guide us towards a joint strategy and help protect the achievements of the past,” he said.

The HPC Secretary urged the Taliban to attend the upcoming Consultative Loya Jirga to present their demands and said if the Taliban did not participate, then the nation would make decisions on peace on their own.

Meanwhile, an Islamic scholar Attaullah Faizani said around 300 clerics were living in each police district of Kabul city and each led more than 1,000 worshippers in prayers, so the presence of Ulema would be vital in the Loya Jirga.

He said, “War is not a solution to the conflict, the Taliban are fighting, but they have achieved nothing so far, so the Consultative Loya on Peace would be a great chance to reach lasting peace in the country.”

A number of other Ulema held similar views and urged the Taliban militants to attend the Jirga.

pk/ma

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