KABUL - Former vice president Mohammad Younus Qanooni at a gathering in Kabul on Tuesday said he has information that the government has prepared a list of delegates to attend the upcoming Turkey conference. He said such a delegation is not inclusive, most of its members are from the government and that it does not have the authority of decision making.
Qanooni, who addressed a gathering of former mujahideen figures and political leaders, warned that such an attempt will lead the Turkey conference to failure.
He said that the attempt will also disrupt participation at the upcoming Turkey conference.
“God forbid, this delegation is only from the government and does not represent politicians, influential figures, the nation, women, civil society and if it goes there and makes an attempt to disrupt the conference violence will continue in Afghanistan for sure,” he said.
The Afghan government did not comment on the formation of the delegation.
“We call on Mr. Ashraf Ghani and Doctor Abdullah and other elders to make an agreement and make a proposal that is in favor of Afghans,” said Najibullah, a Kabul resident.
“Our elders should become united so that Afghans are saved from this violence and poverty and calamity,” said Sayed Ali Shah, a Kabul resident.
This comes as Second Vice President Mohammad Sarwar Danesh reacted to the review of the peace proposals, including that of President Ghani, made by a 15-member committee under the High Council for National Reconciliation. Danesh said it has not highlighted policies for a transitional government.
Danesh has announced his opposition to any attempt to release more Taliban prisoners, but President Ghani’s special envoy for Pakistan, Mohammad Umer Daudzai, said that the issue needs to be considered to move the process forward.
“Why should we wait for Americans and Taliban to sit somewhere and tell us that we have decided you should release prisoners? We have witnessed this mistake and why should we repeat it?” Daudzai said.
The Taliban has said that it is not ready to attend the Turkey conference on April 16, but the group said they are still reviewing the details of the event.
“We hope that we get a ceasefire with the start of the negotiations in Istanbul, a ceasefire that is countrywide,” said Ata Mohammad Noor, the head of a splinter faction of Jamiat-e-Islami.
“The Taliban should quit violence and have mercy on this nation,” said Zabihullah Mujaddedi, head of the Jabha-e-Nejat-e-Milli Afghanistan party.
The Turkey conference was expected to start on April 16, however, with the new developments, an exact date for the conference has not been specified so far. (TOLO NEWS)