The News International
April 14, 2011
PESHAWAR: The Taliban on Wednesday said the basic solution to the Afghan issue lies in the immediate withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and not in setting up Taliban offices in other countries.
Talking to the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) by telephone, Taliban spokesman Qari Muhammad Yousaf Ahmadi said the current issue of Afghanistan was triggered by the military invasion and interference of foreign forces and this issue couldn’t be resolved unless the foreign forces pull out of the country.
About the claims of High Peace Council’s officials that Turkey and several other countries of the region had offered to allow Taliban to open offices in these countries, he said: "As we said in the past, Taliban are not ready to any kind of negotiation in presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan. So it is meaningless to offer Taliban to open political offices. We know well that these are all useless efforts. We have never budged from our stand of unconditional withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan as real issue is the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan."
Ahmadi said: "We demand all those individuals and parties, who want solution to the Afghan problem, to use their abilities in the withdrawal of foreign forces. They should convince the foreigners to leave Afghanistan as the problem started due to their occupation and the Afghan issue can never be resolved unless and until the occupation is practically ended," he added.
The purported Taliban spokesman also demanded of Afghans, who were sincere in seeking solution to the ongoing problem, to use their abilities for the ouster of foreign forces so that peace could be restored to the war-ravaged country. He added that they did not need to open office in Turkey or any other country, as they were not ready to held talks in the current circumstances.
Afghanistan’s High Council for Peace Deputy Chief Abdul Hakim Mujahid told the AIP that Turkey had offered to allow Taliban to open political office in their country so that Taliban could be engaged in talks. He continued that Saudi Arabia, UAE and Turkmenistan had also offered to allow Taliban to open offices on their soil, if Taliban extended them a formal request.
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