Kabul: A senior member of High Peace Council Thursday said that there have been indirect contacts with Taliban leader Mullah Omar and Gulbadin Hikmatyar that could end up fruitful in the reconciliation process.
According to an Afghan private TV channel, Deputy Head of High Peace Council Mawlawi Attaullah Ludin said that there have been contacts with people close to Taliban leader and leader of the Hezb-e-Islami party. But Mr Ludin declined to provide further details about the contacts.
As per the report, the Taliban releasing a statement on Wednesday dismissed any contact between the government and the Taliban. The statement only confirms that some contacts which are focused on exchange of prisoners between the Taliban and the government.
Mr Ludin said: “It is up to the Taliban how they project their policies and what they include in their statements, but we will follow our path. We don’t said that we have direct contact with Mullah Omar and Hikmatyar, but the contacts have to be at the level of their representatives.”
High Peace Council has previously requested UN Security Council to remove names of some of the Taliban leaders in sanctions list who could be helpful in reconciliation process.
But the Taliban still stick to their preconditions, saying there would not be any peace deal between Afghan government and the Taliban until the full withdrawal of foreign forces from the country.
