Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday announced a 12-person team for prospective peace talks with the Taliban, as the UN renewed calls for direct negotiations between Kabul and the terrorists.
The Afghan Government, Western diplomats and United Nations officials have in recent weeks raised hopes of finally reaching a deal to end the Taliban’s 17-year insurgency.
At an international conference on Afghanistan in Geneva, Ghani said his government had “formed a 12-person negotiating team, comprised of both women and men, and led by presidential chief of staff (Abdul Salam) Rahimi”. Rahimi, a former humanitarian worker and ex-deputy Afghan finance minister, is considered one of Ghani’s closest aides.
The President also laid out what he termed a “roadmap” for the talks and four principles that he said must form the backbone of any agreement.
They include respecting Afghanistan’s constitution and the total rejection of interference in domestic affairs by foreign “terrorist” and criminal groups.
“We seek a peace agreement in which the Afghan Taliban would be included in a democratic and inclusive society,” Ghani said.