In the name of God, the most Compassionate, the most Merciful
Press Release,
Inauguration of the "Consultative Jirga of the Afghan Presidential Candidates"
and its Role for Mediation in Peace Process
We, Enayatullah Hafiz, Dr. Ghulam Farooq Njrabi, Dr. Faramarz Tamanna, Mohammad Ibrahim Alokozai, Mohammad Hakim Torsun, Eng. Mohammad Shohab Hakimi and Noor Rahman Liwal, Afghanistan 2019 Presidential Election candidates, with the help of Almighty Allah and hoping for a peaceful, prosperous and independent Afghanistan with free, informed and prosperous citizens, have come together and established the “Consultative Jirga of the Afghan Presidential Candidates” hereinafter called Jirga.
One of the principal goals of this Jirga is to facilitate and accelerate the peace process in Afghanistan. In order to achieve this goal, the members of the Jirga emphasize the following points:
1. The Jirga recognizes peace as the sacred desire of the people of Afghanistan. Like all other nations around the world, the Afghan people have the right to live in a peaceful, prosperous and secure environment.
2. The Jirga appreciates the efforts that have been made so far by the Government of Afghanistan, the United Nations, Islamic countries, NGOs and international partners, especially the United States, though these efforts have not yet yielded any tangible results. Members of Jirga believe that to achieve sustainable peace, there is need for bringing serious changes to the current mechanisms and procedures developed for achieving peace.
3. Peace in Afghanistan is a complex, multi-faceted and ambiguous concept. The existence of numerous actors has added to its complexity and ambiguity. Therefore, the number of actors involved in the peace process should be reduced and the emphasis should be placed on the quality and outcome of the peace talks.
4. While appreciating countries of the region for considering the stability of Afghanistan as essential for the stability of the region and for their efforts towards bringing security to Afghanistan, the Jirga believes that not only the regional mechanisms for peace have not been able to bring the desired outcomes for Afghanistan but the conflicting interests of the involved parties have added to the complexity of the peace process in Afghanistan.
5. None of the Jirga members have been involved in the hostilities of the past forty years and have instead been engaged in the reconstruction and development of the county, always serving their people and standing with them. The Jirga members are therefore well positioned to mediate between parties to the conflict in an effective and deserving manner. This mediation is solely aimed at putting an end to the conflict and overcoming the complexities of the peace process.
6. Given the fact that members of the Jirga have diverse presidential programs and have broad public support, they can contribute effectively to the peace talks between all the involved parties (the Afghan government, the Taliban, and the United States + NATO) with a view to bring peace and security to Afghanistan. Currently, no other party has such capacity and public support to mediate in the peace process.
7. The consultative Jirga is ready to contact and negotiate with all parties to the conflict and mediate in an impartial manner.
8. The creation of this Jirga provides a framework for cooperation among the presidential candidates in promoting free and fair elections, advancing the peace process and other matters of national interest.
All members of the Jirga are committed to achieving the above-mentioned goals.
Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, 17 March 2019.
For more information contact: malwmat@jirga.org or visit www.Jirga.org
