Tuesday February 26, 2019
Kabul (BNA) The main aim of convening the traditional consultative Loya Jirga was to help a national consensus to strengthen peace process in the country, Mohammad Omar Doudzai, the country’s head of High Peace Council secretariat was quoted by Bakhtar News Agency as saying.
Speaking to a media meeting, Daudzai who is also the presidential advisor on regional consensus for Afghanistan peace said one of the main target of the peace consultative jirga was reaching to an intellectual understanding and adopting a joint national stance about the direct and indirect peace talks with the Taliban, said the agency. Afghanistan is getting preparation to convene the traditional Loya Jirga or grand assembly of chieftains and elders within weeks to discuss the ways and means on how to bring the Taliban outfit into negotiating table and bolster the national reconciliation process in the country, according to the agency.
The Loya Jirga with the participation of about 2,000 people from across the country will be held on March 17 and would concluded on March 20, this year,” Daudzai told reporters the other day.
Daudzai who is also the special envoy of President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani on ensuring regional consensus for peace in Afghanistan also added that 1,100 persons out of some 2,000 would represent the country’s 34 provinces at the Jirga and 900 others come from the lawyers’ community, civil society and private sectors. The president would select the Loya Jirga chairman, during his inaugural speech at the grand assembly and then the members would elect him by overwhelming majority of the participants, said the agency. Daudzai said the regional countries have positive viewpoints about peace restoration in the country, but are different in practice about peace in Afghanistan. “But we support the world agreement on peace talks in Afghanistan.”
The coming Jirga is a consultative gathering of elders, elite personalities and youngsters that could represent the people, Daudzai said, hoping the coming Jirga would facilitate the direct talks between government and the Taliban in the near future. Pointing to the Qatar Peace Talks between the Taliban and the U.S. representatives, he said the negotiation should pave the way for holding direct peace talks between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban peace negotiators. He hoped Mullah Beradar, a prominent Taliban member could use his influence in direct peace talks between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban representatives.
