Islamabad:
Opposition leaders and civil society activists of Afghanistan, backed by gin women for Afghanistan (WFA), have demanded the establishment of a complete political position in Islamabad to increase pressure on the Aphgan interim government, arguing that the Islamic Emirate of the Talibanes does not represent the Afghan people.
Speaking at a two -day closed conference organized in a private hotel in Islamabad from the University of Sassi, promulgated by the Parliament of Pakistan, the participants of Afghanistan and Pakistan asked for “peaceful pressure tactics” in the first phase.
Some went further, demanding that Islamabad formally open the political offices for Afghan opposition groups until their demands were met.
They attended outstanding Afghan political and social figures, including the former deputy and activist of women’s rights, Fawzia Koofi, former governor of Kabul Ahmed Ullah Alizai, Badakhshan politician, Aman Ullah Paiman and activist Raheel Talash.
The conference, funded by UN women, the National Endowment For Democracy (NED) based in the United States (NED), and the Federal Swiss Foreign Affairs Department (FDFA), were framed as an effort to build a collective vision for a Pacific Afghanistan. But the participants were overwhelming in rejecting the Taliban government.
“The Taliban came to power by force under an agreement. We reject their government and call it illegal,” the participants told the media.
Fawzia Koofi emphasized the regional role of Pakistan: “Pakistan is the largest regional player and his policies impact his neighbors. That is why we kept the first phase of this session in Islamabad, and will continue more than this type of conferences.”
He pointed out that Afghanistan is the home of 18 million women who remain without representing under the Taliban domain. “A group cannot make decisions for ninety percent of the country,” he said.
“When women cannot work, study or participate in public life, disasters continue. In Kunar, women were prohibited from rescue work and more women and children died,” Koofi added.
‘Pacific road to follow’
Former Ijaz rejected the claims that the meeting was purely designed as a pressure tactic. “It’s not about pressing Emirarate-E-Islami Afghanistan, but about discussing the way to follow through peaceful media,” he said.
At the same time, he acknowledged: “We accept the fact that TTP has blood stains in his hands, but we still want peaceful and significant conversations with Emirate-E-Islami Afghanistan.”
The main journalist Tahir Khan told the Peshawar Office of Express PAkGazette that, despite the denial of the organizers, the agenda became evident during the discussions. “Yes, some participants demanded that Islamabad establish an office for members of the Afghan opposition,” he said.
When asked why the Taliban had not been invited, the participants explained that, as the conference was only in an initial phase, its inclusion was not considered adequate.
