Atmar calls for revival of intra-Afghan negotiations

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan’s foreign minister during the republic regime has called for the revival of intra-Afghan negotiations to put an end to the decades-long miseries of Afghanistan.
In an open letter to the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighboring countries Mohammad Hanif Atmar said there was overwhelming support for peaceful means to address the fundamental challenge of political inclusion and state legitimacy.
He wrote to give peaceful settlement a chance, the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ (IEA) will had to heed the prevailing demand of the Afghan people for peace and legitimate governance, and honour their own obligations to participate in intra-Afghan negotiations.
IEA had committed themselves to these negotiations on the basis of the Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan (the Doha Agreement), to which the Taliban still insist to be committed, he added.
The High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), which the Afghans and the international community welcomed as a representative body during the 2020-2021 peace negotiations in Doha, can be revived to represent the non-Taliban Afghans at the intraAfghan negotiation, he said.
Atmar said the humanitarian disaster, affecting the majority of the Afghan population and causing widespread hunger and suffering, was going to get worse in the months to come.
A severe underfunding of the UN humanitarian appeal and the irresponsible ban by the IEA on the work of Afghan women, including those working with the UN and humanitarian organizations, was among the factors compounding the humanitarian crisis.
He added prospects for the country’s economy remained grim as the economic crisis – fuelled by the collapse of the country’s financial sector and disruption in trade, investment and development assistance, among other reasons – showed few signs of a possible recovery.
The systematic violation of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Afghan people, especially those of women, and the disrespect for the rule of law surely deepen these crises, he believed.
Atmar’s letter comes as Uzbekistan is hosting the gathering of foreign ministers from the countries neighbouring Afghanistan from April 12 to 13.