The head of Afghanistan's High Peace Council Salahuddin Rabbani said on Monday that peace talks with the Taliban will not sacrifice the past decade's achievements.
Responding to critics over recent reported meetings with Taliban members, Rabbani sought to reassure those concerned that the government will not trade off rights gained in recent years to appease the Taliban.
"I want to emphasise that the past decade's achievements will not sacrifice and we will not do ‘deals' in the peace talks," he said at a gathering in Kabul.
He highlighted women's rights as one area that would not fall victim to compromise and said that the Afghan government would gain from the talks.
Rabbani said that the reality of the ongoing war made it necessary to aim for dialogue.
"War still threatens Afghanistan. War will not end the violence. The solution only lies in the elimination of both internal factors and external factors," he said.
Rabbani recently urged Pakistan to transfer Taliban prisoners into Afghanistan and push militant leaders into peace negotiations, saying Islamabad must do more to help bring an end to the 10-year Afghan war.
Rabbani has previously referred to the talks as the best chance of restoring calm before a 2014 pullout of foreign combat troops.
He was chosen in April to replace Burhanuddin Rabbani, his father and the former High Peace head, after he was killed by a suicide bomber in September last year. (TOLO News)
Responding to critics over recent reported meetings with Taliban members, Rabbani sought to reassure those concerned that the government will not trade off rights gained in recent years to appease the Taliban.
"I want to emphasise that the past decade's achievements will not sacrifice and we will not do ‘deals' in the peace talks," he said at a gathering in Kabul.
He highlighted women's rights as one area that would not fall victim to compromise and said that the Afghan government would gain from the talks.
Rabbani said that the reality of the ongoing war made it necessary to aim for dialogue.
"War still threatens Afghanistan. War will not end the violence. The solution only lies in the elimination of both internal factors and external factors," he said.
Rabbani recently urged Pakistan to transfer Taliban prisoners into Afghanistan and push militant leaders into peace negotiations, saying Islamabad must do more to help bring an end to the 10-year Afghan war.
Rabbani has previously referred to the talks as the best chance of restoring calm before a 2014 pullout of foreign combat troops.
He was chosen in April to replace Burhanuddin Rabbani, his father and the former High Peace head, after he was killed by a suicide bomber in September last year. (TOLO News)
Source : Afghan Voice Agency (AVA), International Service
