KABUL: Addressing the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) meeting at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said “We believe in the future of Afghanistan,” adding that “today’s Afghanistan has really changed.”
“I offered a bridge to peace through the holding of early elections,” President Ghani said. “The Loya Jirga took the unprecedented step of releasing 5,000 hardened Taliban fighters and some of the largest drug dealers under the assurance of good conduct by the international community.”
“Today’s war is not a civil war,” President Ghani said, adding that “it’s the war of the networks.”
“I assure the international community that the people of Afghanistan don’t want anti-government elements,” President Ghani said. Religious scholars from various countries, including Pakistan, have said that the “current war in Afghanistan is not a religious war,” he added.
“A massive influx of transnational terrorist networks, particularly Jaish-i-Muhammed and Lashkar-i-Tayaba and influx of Daish, is giving the war new regional and international dimensions, the president added, saying planting of carpet mining, car bombs, suicide bombing, summary executions, revenge killings, forced marriages constitute a recurrent pattern of violations of human rights.
“We call on the international community to review the narrative of the willingness of the Taliban and their supporters on embracing a political solution.”
President Ghani stated: “There is no military solution to the country’s issue,” adding that the Afghan government believes in a political settlement. “The only solution for the Taliban is a political agreement that satisfies all the people,” he mentioned.
Referring to the announcement to withdraw foreign troops from Afghanistan by September 11, President Ghani said: “We respect the US President Biden and NATO’s decision on troops withdrawal.”
“We have never asked President Joe Biden and NATO to change their decision over their troop’s withdrawal from Afghanistan,” he said, adding that “Afghans should make their future on their own.”
“The departure of the international forces gives us the opportunity to frame and implement our sovereignty strategies in the manner suited to our unique conditions and history as well as the benefits of regional connectivity and global cooperation,” he added.
“We have cut the national budget by 5.2% to eliminate waste, prioritize the use of condition-based assistance, ensure delivery of essential services and free resources for our national defense,” he stated.
He also praised the Afghan security forces for defending their country in the ongoing war.
The Kabul Times
