Kabul, Taliban must restart intra-Afghan talks: Karzai

KABUL (Pajhwok): After US president Donald Trump called off a secret meeting with the Taliban at Camp David, former Afghan leader Hamid Karzai on Sunday urged the Afghan warring sides to renounce violence and restart intra-Afghan talks with honesty.

Karzai’s remarks comes in reaction to US President Donald Trump recent decisions of cancelling peace talks with Taliban and meeting President Ashraf Ghani.

In a statement, the ex-president said peace was a major desire of the people of Afghanistan and a great priority.

He said when the US and Taliban started peace talks, the Afghans welcomed it but now when the talks had been called off, it didn’t mean efforts the Afghans would stop efforts for peace but instead they would intensify their efforts.

Karzai called on the Taliban and the Afghan government to restart intra-Afghan talks with full honesty and establish lasting peace.

He also urged regional countries not only to cooperate with Afghanistan in reaching peace but also step up their efforts in this regard.

sa/ma