Former president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban entered Kabul on 15 August 2021, has said national stability in Afghanistan cannot be achieved without the presence of the Taliban.
In his message on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha, Ghani stated that lasting peace and stability would only be possible if there is a sincere assessment of the Taliban’s treatment over the past two decades and an acknowledgment of what has happened.
He pointed out that the vengeful approach of the Taliban has victimized the citizens of Afghanistan.
Ghani stressed the importance of building trust as a crucial step towards peace.
He added that perhaps the majority of the Taliban also has understood “the national demand for a transition to stable security, and the group should bear the responsibility for the consequences if this goal is not achieved.”
“For achieving this goal, the Taliban must first make peace within themselves and with Islam, which opposes violence, and then make peace with the Afghan people,” Ghani said.
The former president criticized the policies of the Taliban, claiming that their actions contradict the principles of Islam.
The Taliban has taken the divine right to punish and have taken away people’s rights in the name of Islam, he said.
“The Taliban has taken the divine rights of punishment and retribution and has deprived people’s rights under the name of Islam,” Ghani added.
Ghani also alleged that the Taliban has exploited Afghanistan’s natural resources, emphasizing that foreign countries have no right to seize these resources in the absence of a “legitimate government.”
Ghani also stated that migrants share the same suffering as their compatriots within Afghanistan.
Without openly naming anyone, Ghani criticized certain individuals of being corrupt and incompetent, asserting that he refuses to collaborate with warlords. “I am not ready to take a single step with the warlords,” he stressed.
He highlighted the political impotence of the Taliban and the lack of vision demonstrated by some politicians, suggesting that the resolution of the problem lies beyond their capabilities.
Ghani, who fled Afghanistan in a helicopter in 2021, says that he is now ready to help prepare a “third road map” to solve the current situation in Afghanistan and to reach “a legitimate system” without demanding anything in return.
He added that despite having established relative security, the Taliban has resorted to violence.
According to Ghani, the Taliban has chosen the path of “negative” security instead of permanent peace “which cannot be considered as an achievement.”
People of Afghanistan call Ghani a “fugitive” after he fled Afghanistan which led to the collapse of the former security forces and the government – allowing for a total takeover by the Taliban.
