Heart Of Asia Members Urge Faster Afghan Peace Drive

Afghanistan's immediate neighbors and key global players in the peace process on Tuesday called for expediting efforts for a political settlement in the war-ravaged country.

Addressing the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process meeting of foreign ministers in Tajikistan's capital Dushanbe, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani reiterated the resolve to achieve lasting peace and accomplish mega regional projects of energy transfer and connectivity.

"I cannot express in words the pain and grief of the people, the security and defense forces who are sacrificing their lives for peace everyday … Ensuring peace and security in Afghanistan is important for all of us like oxygen," he said, adding a stable Afghanistan was in the interest of all regional countries.

Speaking at the occasion, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon stressed the Afghan conflict has no military solution. He welcomed efforts by the government of Afghanistan for peace and expressed Dushanbe's support for a cease-fire and political settlement.

Foreign ministers and representatives of Turkey, Russia, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, India, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Uzbekistan attended the conference that pushed for expediting the peace drive.

In a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Ghani thanked Ankara for its support. Both sides expressed concerns over the rising violence, and discussed preparations for the Afghan peace conference in Turkey, said the presidency in a statement.

Ghani also held separate meetings with Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The presidency said Qureshi expressed support for the calls of cease-fire and a democratic Afghanistan.

Earlier, addressing the conference, Qureshi warned of the "internal and external spoilers" in the Afghan peace drive. "Our message to the Afghan leadership is to continue and make this process successful through a sincere, concrete and meaningful dialogue as there is no military solution to this issue," he said.

The Indian minister said there was need for peace within and around Afghanistan. "If the peace process is to be successful, then it is necessary to ensure that the negotiating parties continue to engage in good faith, with a serious commitment towards reaching a political solution," said Jaishankar.

The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process meeting came ahead of another key international conference on Afghan peace in Turkey. The Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed readiness to host the conference in April in a bid to find a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The local Etilat-e-Roz daily in Afghanistan reported that President Ashraf Ghani is likely to float the idea of early elections at the forthcoming Istanbul conference as an alternate to the US proposal for an "inclusive government" for peace with the Taliban. According to Afghan media, as per the proposed peace plan by Ghani, a six-month truce would be called ahead of early polls for the top seat. -