Remove hurdles to intra-Afghan talks: Taliban supremo

KABUL Haibatullah in a statement on Tuesday called on Afghan politicians to immediately remove all obstacles to intra-Afghan dialogue and prioritize national interest.

In his Eidul Adha message, Haibatullah believed joint efforts could eliminate all internal and potential causes of war and conflict, restore peace in the country and reach an understanding among themselves on a future Islamic government.

“Exchange of prisoners --- a reason for joy and assurance to thousands of grief-stricken families --- was a key development which should not have been delayed by the other side.”

He added: “As we take steps towards peace, the prisoner release process plays a big part in building trust and shortening our path to the end”.

Referring to foreign forces withdrawal, the supreme leader said it was a good progress that the Americans and their allies had begun implementing the Doha agreement by initiating the withdrawal of their forces, evacuating five bases and preparing to withdraw all the remaining military and non-diplomatic personal in line with their obligations in the Doha agreement.

The Islamic Emirates remained committed to the agreement signed with the United States. The civilian and military organs of the US government and their allies must also honor the agreement and not create obstacles to ending the longest war in American history with unwarranted remarks and propaganda, he said.

The United States of America must show seriousness, urgency and prudence in implementation of such a significant and vital process, make use of experiences gained over the past nineteen years and then properly execute its obligations, he said.

“For example – extending the ten-day prisoner exchange process to four months, the continuing existence of black lists and carrying out frequent drone strikes, bombardments, raids and artillery attacks on unjustifiable grounds do not serve the interests of anyone nor can such actions play a role in winning the war.”

He said such actions were counterproductive and gave birth to more complications, so it becomes imperative that both the United States and the international community take this issue seriously and stop creating further problems.

 “Bringing peace and security to Afghanistan including the neighboring and regional countries,” he said.

The Islamic Emirate favored good relations with all countries and sought to maintain relations with Islamic countries in the framework of brotherhood and on the basis of cooperation.

Nh/ma