Monitoring Desk
KABUL: The leader of Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has offered an all-out support to Taliban if the group opts to participate in peace talks with the Afghan government.
Hekmatyar made the offer during his visit to southeastern Paktia and Khost provinces where he met with supporters of his party during his three-day stay.
He said the ongoing conflict has no winner and will burn the Afghan nation since this is a conflict among the Afghan people and only the nation will suffer.
Calling on Taliban to join peace process, Hekmatyar said Hezb-e-Islami is prepared for an all-out support if the group agrees to start peace talks with the Afghan government.
This comes as the Taliban group has persistently rejected to participate in any form of reconciliation process.
On the other hand, the commander of the NATO and US forces in Afghanistan Gen. Nicholson has warned that the Taliban militants will be eliminated if they did not accept the offers for reconciliation.
Speaking to reporters in Pentagon via teleconference from Kabul few days earlier, Gen. Nicholson said “We’ll have to continue to apply the three types of pressure, engage within the region and leverage all of the instruments available to meet our goals.”
He also added “In the face of this pressure, the Taliban cannot win. Their choices are to reconcile, live in irrelevance, or die.”
Gen. Nicholson was briefing the reporters regarding the impact of the new US strategy for South Asia. The US President Donald Trump announced the new US strategy for South Asia and Afghanistan late in August this year as he emphasized on continue US presence to counter terrorism and help support the Afghan security forces.
