Afghan Prez warns Taliban on links with LeT, Jaish, Al-Qaeda

Kabul, July 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has asked the Taliban whether they want foreign fighters like Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Al-Qaeda to turn Afghanistan into a battleground for "foreign terrorist", Pajhwok News reported.

He said that Afghan people do not know what the Taliban has promised to these groups, but they would not allow their country to become a battleground for terrorist groups.

Ghani said that the Taliban are not committed to peace, and hinted at a new plan to change the situation, saying political interference in the security sector was behind the fall of some areas.

After offering Eid prayers at the Presidential palace, Ghani paid tributes to the security forces, saying they have rendered great sacrifices and this year's Eid is named "Soldier's Eid".

Ghani, referring to the visit of a delegation led by Abdullah Abdullah, head of the National Reconciliation Council, to Doha and two days of talks with Taliban representatives there, said the government sent the delegation to Qatar to try for peace.

As per the report, he accused the Taliban of having no intention of making peace.

"If you are Afghans, come and unite within the framework of Afghanism. Do you have a positive message for the people of Afghanistan, especially women," he asked, as per the report.

Ghani said the Afghan government had released 5,000 Taliban prisoners, but most of them went to the battlefield.

"It was a mistake to release 5,000 prisoners because the Taliban have not yet started peace talks," he said.

According to the President, the nation should now ask the Taliban why they are destroying facilities, conducting kangaroo trials and planting bombs, the report said.

Ghani said the Taliban have destroyed 260 public buildings and if they are true Afghans, they should stop destroying public property and not damage people's homes.

In the last two months, many districts have fallen to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Some claim that the districts were handed over to the Taliban under a deal.

But Ghani said: "The fall of some areas was not a deal and the names of those who have made the deal will be challenged hundreds of years later."

As per the report, Ghani said the handover of areas by security forces to the armed opposition was an insult to the "sacred uniform" and that he, as the commander of the armed forces, did not accept that politicians should interfere in the security sector.

"The security sector should be safe from the interference of politicians and appointments and changes in the sector should be based on merit, not on the orders of politicians, because the interference of politicians has led to the collapse of some areas," Ghani added.

Source: IANS