Reiterating his call on the Taliban to join peace, President Ashraf Ghani said logical demands of the group will be accepted when they enter talks with government.
The president said the people want peace with a committed and united voice as he mentioned latest peace convoys as an example.
Addressing a meeting with the High Peace Council and Afghanistan Ulema Council members at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, Ghani said the two institutions are jointly preparing a roadmap for peace.
“Haven’t we solved any problem which the Taliban has raised? Let’s talk with each other if the issue is the presence of foreign forces (in Afghanistan),” he added.
He said there is a national consensus on peace among Afghans.
“Strong consensus is coming to an exist. Look back at Shanghai Conference four years ago and look at the conference now. It is difficult for the countries in the region to make a decision on war, and it is easy for them to make decision on peace," Ghani added.
The remarks come as government is observing a unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban. The Defense Ministry said the violence scale has dwindled following the ceasefire, but clashes are ongoing between government forces and the Taliban in at least nine provinces.
On Monday, a number of lawmakers in the Afghan parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, sharply criticized President Ghani’s decision on extension of government’s unilateral ceasefire with the Taliban.
The MPs said any move to handover some regions of the country to the Taliban under the pretext of safe zones will finally lead to “fragmentation” of Afghanistan.
Ghani’s unilateral ceasefire will end within the next three days.
Reports say dozens of government forces have lost their lives after Taliban announced end of their three-day ceasefire in June 17.
President Ashraf Ghani on June 07 announced a ceasefire with the Taliban after a religious scholars’ meeting in Kabul days before this announcement where they issued a fatwa against the ongoing war in the country.
Days after government’s announcement, Taliban issued a statement that the group has ordered its fighters not to clash with Afghan security forces for the first three days of Eid. However, the group resumed their fighting after the three-day ceasefire.