Ashraf Ghani will propose a three-phase peace roadmap for Afghanistan during a proposed meeting in Turkey, Reuters reports.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to present three-phase peace roadmap for Afghanistan at proposed meeting in Turkey, seeking Taliban deal and ceasefire ahead of elections , according to a document seen by the Reuters news agency.
The United States is pushing for a conference to be hosted by Turkey, with the participation of the United Nations, this month to finalize a peace deal between the government and the Taliban as the May 1 deadline looms for the withdrawal of all foreign troops.
Ghani’s plan will be presented as a misunderstanding to proposals put forward by Washington – and rejected by the Afghan government – which contemplate immediately developing a new legal system for an interim administration that includes representatives of the Taliban.
The document shows that Ghani’s proposal to reach an end state will include, in the first phase, a consensus on a political settlement and an internationally monitored ceasefire.
The second phase will consist of organizing a presidential election and setting up a “government of peace” and implementation modalities to move towards the new political system.
The third phase will involve building a “constitutional framework, refugee reintegration and development” for Afghanistan in the future.
A senior government official said Ghani has already shared his roadmap with foreign capitals.
A date for the meeting in Turkey has not yet been decided, but several sources told Reuters it could take place within the next two weeks.
The Afghan government and a number of politicians have said they should agree on an agenda with the Taliban ahead of the meeting.
In a statement last month, the Taliban threatened to resume hostilities against foreign troops in Afghanistan if they fail to meet the May 1 deadline set in an agreement between the armed group and the Trump administration last year. .
US President Joe Biden said this month that it would be “difficult” to withdraw the last US troops from Afghanistan before May 1 “purely for tactical reasons,” but he said he did not believe it would be. ‘they would still be here next year.
A senior government official said the Taliban were willing to extend the May 1 deadline and would not resume attacks on foreign forces in exchange for the release of thousands of their prisoners held by authorities in Kabul.
Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban in Qatar, said no such offer had been made.
