Peace Cannot Be Achieved By Soft Policies, Says Ibrahimi

Ibrahimi said the current situation in the country should be addressed by government, as according to him, people will lose hope in the administration if challenges remain unaddressed.
“Government is responsible for defending our property, our honor and the national sovereignty of the people of Afghanistan. Such treatment will have dangerous consequences for which people will turn their back to government,” Ibrahimi said. 
The High Peace Council meanwhile said the institution is optimistic about progress regarding the peace process. 
“The peace process is in a very sensitive phase. Our next steps should be intra-Afghan talks between government and the Taliban. And in this respect, we call on all countries especially the US to speed up their activities,” said Sayed Ehsan Tahiri, a spokesman for the High Peace Council.
Other MPs in the Wolesi Jirga criticized government over what they called inattention to the security situation.
“Today, no one cares about migrants and martyrs who lose their lives while serving in the army and police. No one asks about them,” said Fatima Aziz, an MP. 
“We call on politicians not to create a rift among ethnic groups anymore,” said Nasima Niazi, an MP.
According to the Presidential Palace, the Afghan president is working on establishing an advisory board for peace negotiations.
The Presidential Palace said on Friday that Ghani met with a number of political figures and former jihadi leaders including Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, former vice president Mohammad Yunus Qanuni as well as members of Jamiat-e-Islami’s leadership Salahuddin Rabbani and Atta Mohammad Noor to discuss the establishment of the board. 
He also met with members of civil society over peace talks on Saturday as well as other key figures including Gulbuddin Hekmatyar from Hizb-e-Islami on Friday night. 
The Presidential Palace said in a statement that at his meeting with civil society members, Ghani said the Afghan youth needs to play a significant role in the peace process as any achievements, or otherwise, will affect them in the long term, the presidential palace said in a statement.
This comes after the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad this week started his second round of talks over the Afghan peace process. 
It is expected that Khalilzad will return to Kabul on Saturday after finishing his meeting with Afghan officials, and United Arab Emirates and Saudi officials in Abu Dhabi. He also held two-day talks with Taliban representatives in Doha. 
The US envoy met Taliban representatives this week in Doha where they discussed ending the Afghan war.
Some quarters in Afghanistan are encouraged by developments around peace talks, while others are less optimistic
Talking to a Kazakhstan TV channel last week, former president Hamid Karzai said the Moscow meeting – which was held on November 9 – was the first and correct step taken for bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan and in the region.
Karzai said that although there were no representatives from the Afghan government present during direct talks between the US officials and Taliban in Qatar, he hoped such meetings would lead to an end to the war.