Reconciliation council reviewing proposals

KABUL (Tolo News): Senior political leaders and government officials are reviewing over 25 peace proposals, including that of the Presidential Palace, to make a unified peace road map for the upcoming conference in Turkey.

The committee that operates under the High Council for National Reconciliation is led by former vice president Mohammad Yunus Qanooni, and its members are politicians and senior government officials, including the national security adviser.

The peace proposals have been sent by political parties to the council. The 15-member committee is also reviewing views from 30 members of the council on the peace proposals.

Analysts said the key is to find in these proposals common ground to move the peace process forward. Sources within the Presidential Palace said that President Ghani is expected to share publically his peace proposal that calls for a three-phase plan to end the war and achieve peace in the country.

Ghani’s proposal, which has been shared with foreign diplomats in Kabul, has three phases: (1) making peace or holding talks with the Taliban, (2) building peace – with language that hints at a transitional government, and (3) sustaining peace, which indirectly refers to a post-transitional government situation, according to sources.

“Different views and proposals were discussed in the (committee) meeting. We will make efforts to make a unified proposal for the Turkey conference,” the reconciliation council spokesman Fraidoon Khwazoon said. “We are also working on unifying the views.”

The Jamiat-e-Islami party said there is a need for unifying the views on peace proposals that have been sent to the reconciliation council. “A real consensus has not been formed internally. However, a technical team is working,” said Ata Mohammad Noor, head of a splinter faction of the Jamiat-e-Islami party. “To unify views, so far 35 members of the leadership committee of the High Council for National Reconciliation have shared their ideas. I hope that a unified view is achieved.”

“The proposal of the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan is ready to be shared with the people of Afghanistan and the reconciliation council,” said Ehsan Nairo, spokesman for the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. “The peace committee of the Wolesi Jirga in a meeting decided to gather views of lawmakers and write it as a text and will send it to the government and the reconciliation council,” parliament speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani said.

Sources said that based on Ghani’s proposal, the president and his deputies’ positions should be preserved along with government forces until an election is held. “The proposals that have been made in Kabul–none of them emphatically called for a transitional or interim or another type of setup. The best proposal is the US-proposed peace plan that should be implemented,” said Sayed Ishaq Gailani, head of the National Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan.

“Decisions have been made. The fact that they will decide on Afghanistan on April 16 is because the Taliban is putting pressure on Americans that if they remain–how long will they remain?–and this matter should be made clear,” said Tawfiq Tamas, an international affairs analyst. The Turkey conference is expected to be held this month. Sources familiar with the matter have said that two dates – April 12 and 16 – are under discussion by involved parties for the meeting that some have said will continue for 10 days.