Coordinate closely on peace bid, govt leaders asked

KABUL activists on Thursday said the government has been unable to name its negotiating team owing to lack of coordination between the Presidential Palace and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) office.

Rangina Yari, a member of Afghanistan Home to Peace, a civil society organization, told a gathering organized by the group here, that the government should advance the peace talks from a specific address.

Yari said people were worried about lack of coordination and some differences between the Presidential Palace and the CEO office as the issue had caused people to lose trust in the system.

“The peace process should not be treated as a project, but serious steps should be taken for its advancement”, she said.

She said ceasefire should be agreed upon before the launch of intra Afghan talks.

Abdul Nasir Reshtia, another civil society activist, said due to problems in the peace process, traders wanted to withdraw their investments from the country.

“If there is peace and security in the country, it would also alleviate the level of poverty,” he said.

Abdul Ahad Haris, another member of the organization, said that people knew little about the peace process due to their limited access to information.

All information about the peace process should be shared with journalists and media in order they reach the masses, he said.

A number of other civil society activists had similar views and emphasized the government should create a special team for the peace process.

The statements from civil society come as President Ashraf Ghani offered a seven-point peace proposal and created State Ministry on Peace Affairs few months back.

Peace talks between the US and the Taliban going on with some breaks since the last one year in Qatar, but no any agreements yet to be signed.

mds

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