Geneva Conference on Afghanistan Renews Emphasis on Peace Process

Geneva: A top Afghan security official said that a conference that ended here Wednesday has put a renewed focus on a peace process owned and led by those in the country, and now it is up to the Taliban to come forward and play a constructive role. “We see the stars lining up for peace at his point,” said Hamdullah Mohib, national security adviser of Afghanistan, at a press conference here after the two-day Conference on Afghanistan in Geneva, adding that “the ball is in the Taliban’s court”, Xinhua news agency reported. The Geneva Conference on Afghanistan, co-hosted by Afghanistan and the UN, was attended by delegations from 61 countries and 35 international organizations, representatives of civil society, the private sector and the media.

UN Secretary-General’s special representative Tadamichi Yamamoto said the gathering was likely the first international meeting on Afghanistan when issues of “peace have been taken up with such weight”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday called for a political settlement in Afghanistan as his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis offered Switzerland to play a peace-broking role between warring factions.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in a speech his government has formed a negotiating team to work on a peace agreement with the Taliban. “We seek a peace agreement in which the Afghan Taliban would be included in a democratic and inclusive society,” Ghani told the conference. (IANS)