Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani has on Sunday, appointed two former Pakistani officials to the top security posts in Ghani’s administration, amid the United States (US) efforts to revitalize peace talks with Taliban ahead of 7,000 US troop’s pullout in next summer.
According to news reports, Ghani has announced Asadullah Khaleed as defence minister and Amrullah Saleh as next interior minister of Afghanistan. Both of them were former intelligence chiefs who once blamed Pakistan for the resurgence of the Taliban in recent years and even called for Pakistan to be declared as a state sponsored of terror. The approval will have to pass through Afghanistan parliament.
Pakistan, which have an influence over the Taliban, has took part into the latest efforts by the US to revive the peace process. Last week’s talks in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) was successful with the help by Pakistan.
However, two top ranking officials in Kabul said Ghani was not pleased when heard the Taliban has refused to hold talks with the Afghanistan government in the UAE. The Taliban has called Kabul an American puppets repeatedly.
The Taliban signaled the US announcement of withdrawal of half of its troops from Afghanistan as a much good step towards peace process, but however, declined to comment over the appointment of Khaleed and Saleh.
Meanwhile, Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he will hold talks with the government when he will visit Kabul on Monday, to reinforce the commitment of Pakistan towards peace process and to end 17-year-long Afghanistan war. The talks would also include Russia, Iran and China.
Qureshi said, “Good relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as peace in Afghanistan, is critical for regional stability,” adding, “Pakistan wants a sustainable peace in Afghanistan.”