KABUL - The new High Peace Council (HPC) chief, Karim Khalili, on Friday asked the Taliban to play a positive role in ending the decades-long conflict in Afghanistan.
Khalili, who recently took over as the HPC chief, told a gathering in Kabul that the Taliban were mistaken they could reach power through force.
The former second vice president said it was a positive development that the Taliban not only denied their involvement in recent terrorist attacks in Kabul but also condemned them.
Khalili said the recent Kabul attacks showed a lot of work was required to achieve peace and asked the government to intensify the peace process and encourage voices raised for peace.
The HPC chief said politicians, parties and influential figures through their cooperation should steer the country out of the current bad situation because they had the ability to do so.
He also said protests should be carried out according to the Constitution and they should not be aimed at ousting the government. “Is there any alternative if the current system is collapsed.”
He said the enemy wanted to divide the Afghans on ethnic lines. He said the Afghans should not return to the past and instead should learn from the past because the current situation requited harmony and unity.
He said the role of religious scholars in uniting the Afghans was critical, praising the Afghanistan Ulema Council’s recent stance against the conflict.
About the announcement of the election date, Khalili said the elections should be free of fraud.
He said the Election Commission should not allow powerful individuals to interference in the electoral process in order to revive people’s trust in the democratic exercise. (Pajhwok)