KABUL: President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani visited the Special Operations Command Center in Kabul the other day and said that the Taliban has “deep ties” with Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and the group wants Afghanistan “to become a haven for insurgents.”
“The government will never allow this to happen,” President Ghani said while visiting the center to give a greeting for Eid, the Presidential Palace said in a statement. The President pledged to provide “any kind of support,” for Afghan special operations forces.
He promised to address the needs of families of the security force members who have lost their lives while serving their country. “Our goal is to protect Afghanistan, freedom, equality and the achievements of the last 20 years, but the intention of the enemy is dark,” the president said, “and you prove to the enemy they will take their dreams to the grave.”
The president said that “the water” and the “strategic position” is Afghanistan’s, and because of this “enemies are plotting and want to take revenge on us by war.”
On Tuesday, President Ghani in a speech for Eid said recent deeds by the Taliban showed the group has “no will” for peace and, going forward, decisions by the government will be made based on that.
President Ghani said the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan’s decision to send a high-ranking delegation to Doha for negotiations was to determine their will for peace.
“The Taliban made clear many things. Mr. Abdullah told me some minutes ago that there is no will for peace among the Taliban. We sent the delegation … to show that we have the will for peace and we are ready for sacrifice for it, but they (Taliban) have no will for peace and we should make decisions based on this,” the president said.
President Ghani said this Eid has been dedicated to Afghan forces to honor their sacrifices and courage, especially in the last three months.
The Kabul Times
