Former national security adviser Mohammad Haneef Atmar, who resigned from his post in August, said that there should be no compromise on the country’s achievements in peace talks with the Taliban.
In an interview with TOLOnews, Atmar said that peace in the country is applicable only within the structure of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and that if the process leads to the establishment of an Islamic emirate, the nation will not accept it.
“The US government adopted a logical decision after they officially expressed their commitment to peace in Afghanistan and assigned an important delegation for this purpose. It is good news for Afghanistan and the region. Obviously, we support the move. But at the same time, we also share our concerns with them, both with them (US) and our own government. First, we need to fully inform the people of Afghanistan about the peace process. We have always said that peace must be sealed within the framework of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The most important redline for us in the peace process should be our Constitution and the values which have been defined in the Constitution” said Atmar.
He noted that the people of Afghanistan will never endorse an Islamic emirate.
“If the peace process leads to the establishment of an Islamic emirate, this will not be acceptable to the people of Afghanistan,” said Atmar.
He also hinted that he would run for president in the next year’s presidential elections.
“If God willing, because I have not decided on this alone, we took the decision alongside a large number of brothers and sisters where we also work as a team. We are also engaging in negotiations with all political elites of the country,” he said.
Atmar also revealed disagreements between leaders of the National Unity Government and said that the officials were mostly engaging in minor issues.
“First mistake of the National Unity Government is that they did not create unity among themselves and they failed to agree on a consensus on the issues of national interests. We wasted a lot of time to keep these two groups within the system,” he said.
Atmar’s remarks come as President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday announced a peace plan at the Geneva Conference on Afghanistan.