The Afghan leadership is reviewing more than 25 peace proposals, including that of the Presidential Palace, to make a unified peace road map for the upcoming conference in Turkey.
The committee, working 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.
According to Afghan media, the peace proposals sent by political parties, are being reviewed by the 15-member committee. It 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.
The Presidential Palace sources said that President Ashraf 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,” 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 movement.
“The peace committee of the Wolesi Jirga in a meeting on Sunday 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.
The Turkey conference is expected to be held this month. Sources familiar with the matter have said it could be either April 12 or April 16. The meeting could last 10 days.
