Taliban shares draft peace plan with HCNR: Salim

Attaullah Salim, Deputy of the High Council for the National Reconciliation (HCNR) said Wednesday that the Taliban has shared a draft of a peace plan with the council.

Addressing a ceremony marking the anniversary of the Mujahidin victory, Salim stated that he hopes the integration of the HCNR’s plan with the Taliban peace plan could lead to “a common vision for peace in Afghanistan.”

Salim, however, did provide details about the Taliban’s proposed plan.

“Let us put an end to all the adversities and hardships that have caused the destruction of our society in the past. I believe that the Taliban has also worked on plan; we have received a draft of their plan,” Salim said.

He added: “By integrating of the two plans, I hope both the people of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the Taliban will reach a unified plan.”

The development comes as the Taliban refused to participate in the U.S.-backed Afghan peace conference which was scheduled for April 24 in Istanbul, Turkey. The Taliban had stated that it will not participate at any conference on Afghan peace until all foreign troops withdraw from Afghanistan.

Turkey, Qatar, and the United Nations last week announced that the planned Istanbul Conference was postponed for after the holy month of Ramadan.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, meanwhile, said this week that the country will urge the Taliban to remain engaged and continue with the peace process.

“We will certainly try and urge them, you know we will urge them to remain engaged and continue with the peace process; the process that started in Doha should come to its logical conclusion,” Qureshi said.

“We are asking all the stakeholders to remain constructive, to remain engaged, and build on what they have achieved in Doha,” he added.

The Taliban, so far, has not commented in this regard.