Ready to engage with Taliban on all issues: Abdullah

KABUL (Pajhwok): The High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) is ready to engage with Taliban to sort out all issues, the panel’s chief said on Saturday.

The HCNR chairman, addressing the maiden session of the council, said: “We are willing to fully engage with the Taliban to discuss all issues.”

International and regional support was needed to achieve peace in Afghanistan, the reconciliation chief said, stressing the need for unity and consensus.

From now on, according to Abdullah, regular meetings of the HCNR leadership committee will happen to discuss the peace process.

Reduction of violence and a permanent ceasefire was a long-standing demand of the Afghans, who desired an end to war, violence and bloodshed, he said.

“We have to end the war and open a new chapter of peace in our country. I do not have any personal agenda in seeking peace,” the HCNR chairman explained.

The panel was committed to a just, and inclusive peace in Afghanistan, he said, claiming: “We have the political will and public support to do so.”

He added they were striving for a permanent ceasefire, as conflict destroyed the country. “Peace will guarantee a future for everyone.”

Abdullah hailed the release of thousands of Taliban prisoners a few months ago as a bold step that reflected the willingness of the Afghans to make sacrifices.

Both negotiating teams should agree on preserving past achievements. Concurrently, he said, they should aim at achieving a political settlement.

He commended the United States, the European Union, NATO, Islamic countries, IOC, regional states and Qatar for supporting the peace process.

He pledged the government’s stout support for Kabul’s negotiating team. HCNR and the entire country backed them, he concluded.

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