Alwaght- Afghanistan president has announced plans to hold peace talks with the Taliban in a bid to restore security in the war-torn country.
President Ashraf Ghani told a UN conference in Geneva on Wednesday that he formed a 12-strong negotiating team to seek a peace agreement that would include the Taliban in a democratic and inclusive society that respects the rights of women.
"I'm pleased to announce today that after several months of intensive consultation with our citizens across the country, we have formulated a road map for peace negotiations," he said at the two-day United Nations conference on Afghanistan to renew a process of development and reform.
"The constitutional rights and obligations, of all citizens, especially women, should be ensured," Ghani said.
The Afghan leader also announced that the negotiating team will be led by presidential chief of staff Salam Rahimi and will include men and women with the "necessary credentials to deal with the key challenges of peace negotiations".
Ghani said he is hoping for a peace agreement in which the Taliban would be included in a democratic and inclusive society, but added that no organization that has ties with "terrorist networks" will be allowed to join the political process.
Afghan leaders and international diplomats attended the UN conference for Afghanistan peace in Geneva on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The conference on Afghanistan, jointly hosted by the Afghan government and the United Nations, is also chance for donors to measure results against the $15.2 billion committed for Afghanistan at the last funding meeting in Brussels in 2016.
Some 17 years into the US-led invasion of Afghanistan, the country is still suffering from insecurity and militancy.
The Taliban militants are active in two-thirds of the country and fully control four percent of it, while ISIS militants have established a foothold in the eastern and northern parts of Afghanistan.
