KABUL — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani will put forward a
three-phase peace roadmap for Afghanistan during a proposed meeting in Turkey,
seeking an agreement with the Taliban and a ceasefire before elections, a
document seen by Reuters shows.
اضافة اعلان
Washington is pushing for a conference to be hosted by
Turkey, with UN involvement, this month to finalize a peace deal between the
government and the Taliban as a May 1 deadline looms for the withdrawal of all
foreign troops.
Ghani's plan will be presented as a counter to proposals put
forward by Washington, rejected by the Afghan government, that envisage
immediately drawing up a new legal system for an interim administration to
include Taliban representatives.
The document shows Ghani's "Reaching an Endstate"
proposal will include, in the first phase, a consensus on a political
settlement and an internationally monitored ceasefire.
The second phase will be to hold a presidential election and
the establish a "government of peace" and implement arrangements for
moving towards the new political system.
The third phase will involve building a "constitutional
framework, reintegration of refugees and development" for Afghanistan
moving forward.
A senior government official said Ghani has already shared
his road map with foreign capitals.
A date for the Turkey meeting is yet to be decided, but
multiple sources told Reuters it could take place in two weeks' time.
The Afghan government and a number of politicians said they
would have to agree on an agenda with the Taliban before the meeting.
In a statement last month, the Taliban threatened to resume
hostilities against foreign troops in Afghanistan if they did not meet the May
1 deadline envisaged in an agreement between the insurgents and the Trump
administration last year.
US President Joe Biden said this month it would be
"hard" to withdraw the last US troops from Afghanistan by May 1.
A senior government official said the Taliban was willing to
extend the May 1 dateline and would not resume attacks against foreign forces
in exchange for the release of thousands of their prisoners held by the Kabul
authorities.