Ghani calls for patience on peace talks progress

Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday called for patience on the progress of peace talks without any pre-conditions following his proposal to insurgent groups a week ago.

Ghani said it was normal for some people to have doubts over his peace call after four decades of war led to enmity and hatred.

"To reach this goal, we should be patient and not let the enemy take the initiative in their own hands," Ghani said during the Afghan Parliament's opening ceremony.

"Despite efforts by the government for peace, the enemies of peace -- those who seek their interests in prolonging war and crisis -- will oppose it," Ghani was cited as saying by Efe news.

On February 28, Ghani offered the Taliban political recognition and talks without pre-conditions as part of a proposal to start negotiations to end the conflict.

Ghani's announcement came after the insurgent group on February 26 proposed a direct dialogue with the US, the first offer of its kind by the militants, who refused to talk with the Afghan government and the US for years.

A Taliban splinter group led by Mullah Rasul accepted the Ghani proposal with conditions, asking that the negotiations be between Afghans and with no "foreign invaders" present in the country.

Afghanistan is going through one of its bloodiest phases since the end of the NATO combat mission in 2015.

--IANS

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