KABUL - President Ashraf Ghani says progress in the Afghanistan peace process needs regional consensus and attention to relations between Taliban and their supporters, adding Kabul sees with trust Washington’s efforts to end the war in his country.
Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Friday, Ghani said his country was once again connected to central Asia through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and these countries were now big trader partners of Afghanistan.
The president thanked Iran and India for activating air corridors and Chabahar port. “I expect a multifaceted and constructive dialogue with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on June 27. I also thank all those leaders who shed light on political solution to the Afghanistan conflict and I strongly hope the SCO central group will work for an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.”
The president said they considered the US commitment to a political solution as credible and they were coordinating to build the necessary international consensus on peace. “But without a regional consensus on peace and addressing Taliban’s interdependencies with their supporters, breakthroughs will take time,” Ghani said.
Ghani said his government was committed to the 23-point resolution of the recent Consultative Loya Jirga on peace. “Although the Afghan war is multi-dimensional, reaching a peace agreement with the Taliban is a key component for the reduction of violence”.
Ghani made four suggestions on Afghan peace.
•    A regional and international coalition for peace should be formed;
•    A regional task force should be formed to develop bankable programs and projects for regional connectivity and poverty reduction;
•    The issue of narcotics as a driver of conflict and criminality should be comprehensively addressed within the peace-making and peace-building framework;
•    And finally, agreeing to a regional framework for fighting terrorism.
Ghani said the Afghan government will hold the presidential elections on September 28, focus on peace, implement a program of self-reliance, invest in regional connectivity and renew its international and regional partnerships to pursue the vision of building our institutions.
“As a free, fair, inclusive and transparent election is the test of a constitutional order, we invite international observers to monitor the process,” he said.  (Pajhwok)