Pugwash Secretary General Paolo Cotta-Ramusino on Tuesday said his organization has drafted a 19-article truce plan between the Afghan government and the Taliban – which could be helpful in sealing an agreement between the two sides in order to end hostilities and endorse a diplomatic solution for the ongoing turmoil.
 
He said the plan is designed to end the ongoing conflict in the country and seek a peaceful solution to the issue through diplomacy.
 
On Tuesday, Cotta-Ramusino held a backdoor discussion with a number of former Jihadi leaders, former members of the Taliban regime and a number of Afghan politicians.
 
He stated that the plan will be discussed by the Afghan government and the Taliban delegation in Qatar.
 
Cotta-Ramusiono said the warring factions of the Taliban would not reach their objectives through a military struggle.
 
“The issue that Afghanistan should not be anymore the source of any group of people that want to attack… The issue of entering government is something which should be defined. Its vague. It is a proposal that people should sit down and think on what to do,” he added.
 
Commenting on the issue, chairman of Pugwash in Afghanistan, Khalilullah Safai, said: “The ceasefire strategy has been one of the disputed items as the Taliban claims they have control over 50 percent of the Afghan territory. There is a need for a coordinating body to be created and this mechanism is quite essential.”
 
“Based on the agreement, finally the foreign forces will evacuate from Afghanistan, but their withdraw will not be a condition for peace. But, for some of the programs, they will withdraw after the peace agreement,” chairman of the New National Front of Afghanistan, Anwarul Haq Ahadi, said.
 
Meanwhile, former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Mullah Abdul Salaam Zaeef said a lack of trust between government and the Taliban was one of the main obstacles on the way of the peace process in Afghanistan.
 
“Institutions such as Pugwash want to meditate and create an environment for consensus,” Zaeef added.
 
Introducing a working strategy for the ceasefire, the removal of leaders of the Taliban from the blacklist, the gradual withdraw of foreign forces from Afghanistan, the release of Taliban inmates, implementing some key amendments in the Afghan constitution and the respect for human rights are key elements which are mentioned in the plan.
 
However, a number of  former commanders of Taliban have said there are still a number of major challenges to resume the peace talks between government and the Taliban.