Afghans running out of patience with war: Fahim

KABUL.

Speaking at a ceremony in which the new High Peace Council head, Salahuddin Rabbani, was formally introduced, Fahim said government officials were fed-up with the bad  governance and had lost their interest to be part of it anymore.

However, he acknowledged the government’s efforts at bringing peace and stability to the country, saying the peace council was set up for this purpose.

“I want peace in the country from the core of my heart because the Afghans can no more tolerate the war,” he added. The vice president said securing the peace in Afghanistan was a matter of “give and take.”

“We should accept if the power is to be shared with the disgruntled people who also need freedom from others’ influence to work for the prosperity, development and dignity of the country,” he said.

Stressing the need for fulfilling people’s demands and preserving the achievements over the last ten years, Fahim said any peace deal should not be won at the expense of the progress made so far with regard to strengthening democracy in the country.

“Peace cannot be brought by weakening one party and empowering another, because we have gone through such experiences in the past,” he said, asking the Taliban to accept the conditions set by the government, including the recognition of the Constitution and human rights.

“If the Taliban accept these conditions, I am sure peace is achievable,” he said, believing the morale of Afghans to continue rebuilding their country on their own was strengthening day by day. “Unless Afghans themselves rebuild their country, no one can do it.”

The vice-president also said change in the government system could not resolve the conflict and crises prevailing in the country. “Such suggestions will only put us on the path to destruction,” he believed.

Fahim’s remarks about change in the government system come days after Afghanistan National Front (ANF) leaders called for a parliamentary system to replace the present presidential system.

A group of US Congressmen and ANF leaders recently said parliamentary system was good alternative to present system.

In his maiden speech after taking over the charge as head of the high peace council to replace his father, Salahuddin Rabbani vowed all-out efforts on his part to bring peace to the country. He asked religious scholars to cooperate with the council in its efforts at brining peace and stability.

“The only way to protect Afghanistan’s sovereignty is peace and the continuation of war only prolongs a foreign presence in the country,” Rabbani, who was appointed by President Hamid Karzai as head of the council on April 14, said.

His father, Prof. Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former head of the council, was assassinated at his Kabul residence in a suicide attack on September 20, 2011.

Tuesday’s ceremony was attended by the council members, MPs and some cabinet ministers.

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