Taliban urged to create inclusive government

Indian Friends of Afghanistan seeks intra-Afghan peace process

The Taliban should form an inclusive government that will bring national reconciliation in Afghanistan, a group of eminent citizens, led by former External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh, has said. Extending solidarity to the Afghanistan people, it stated that the people of India stood “shoulder to shoulder” with them. “Afghanistan needs an inclusive government that facilitates national reconciliaton after four long decades of wars and violence. Therefore, we appeal to the Taliban (which are in near total control of the country) and other political forces to begin an intra-Afghan peace process leading to a democratic government establishment,” declared a statement issued by the Indian Friends of Afghanistan, which comprises former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha and Mani Shankar Aiyar and peace activist Sudheendra Kulkarni. The Taliban should ensure that no terrorist organisation is allowed to find sanctuary in Afghanistan. The new powerholders of Kabul should respect every Afghan citizen irrespective of ethnicity, ideology or past political background. The Taliban should respect the rights of women and safeguard the developmental projects undertaken by Indian entities in Afghanistan, it said.