Kabul: Taliban has demanded a new Afghanistan constitution as a pre-condition for joining the country’s peace process, read a declaration issued by representatives at a meeting in France on Thursday.
The meeting, brokered by a French think tank Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS), is the first since a US-led bombing campaign drove the Taliban from power in 2001 that senior representatives have sat down with officials from the government and other opposition groups to discuss Afghanistan’s future, AFP reported.
“Afghanistan’s present constitution has no value for us because it was made under the shadows of B52 bombers of the invaders,” said the declaration, which was handed to participants during the meeting and later released to the media.
“Islamic Emirate, for the welfare of their courageous nation, need a constitution that is based on the principles of the holy religion of Islam, national interest, historical achievements, and social justice,” it read.
The talks come against a background of accelerating efforts to draw the Taliban and other opponents of President Hamid Karzai into negotiations on how Afghanistan will be run after Western troops withdraw at the end of 2014.
“The invaders and their friends don’t have a clear roadmap for peace,” the declaration stated.
“Sometimes they say we want to talk to the Islamic Emirate, but sometimes they say we will talk with Pakistan. This kind of vague stance will never get to peace.”
To date the Taliban has refused to negotiate with the government, which it regards as a puppet of the United States. Discussions with American officials were suspended in March.
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