Afghanistan to resist 'pressure' in peace process

KABUL

Afghanistan will not accept pressure in connection with the peace process aimed at ending the 17-year war in the country, President Ashraf Ghani said Wednesday.

Ghani told a gathering of civil society members that peace talks with the Taliban are being held without any pre-conditions, but peace had conditions and the Afghan nation will set limits for the talks, according to a statement from the presidency.

“We will not surrender to anyone and as long as the peace talks do not reach a result, we will defend our soil with dignity,” he added.

The comments are seen by observers as a veiled rejection of the idea of setting up an interim government to oversee the peace process and upcoming presidential election in the war-ravaged country.

Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, reached Kabul late on Sunday as part of his efforts to facilitate dialogue and negotiations for peace. He has held two meetings with the Afghan president in the past two days.

The visiting top U.S. peace envoy on Tuesday acknowledged the importance of taking Afghan government on board in the peace process.

The Taliban and the U.S. are set to resume talks later this month in Doha, Qatar. The Afghan government is increasingly feeling sidelined as the Taliban are not willing to talk with Kabul, resulting in a stalemate.