JK ready to mediate the government of Afghanistan with the Taliban group

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Chairman of the Indonesian Mosque Council (DMI), Jusuf Kalla (JK), admitted that he was willing to mediate the negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban group to create peace.

He even plans to invite the conflicting parties to dialogue in Jakarta.

“Of course for peace we are always ready to help,” said JK, as reported by Antara, on Friday (12/25/2020).

Earlier, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani received Indonesia’s 10th and 12th Vice President at Gulkhana Palace, the Afghan Presidential Palace Complex in Kabul, on Thursday night (12/24/2020).

Also read: Afghan Religious Minister: Happy people for the visit of Jusuf Kalla

During the meeting, Ghani explicitly asked JK to lead the peace negotiations.

Then today, Ghani and JK held Friday prayers together at the ARG Palace Mosque, Afghanistan Presidential Palace Complex, Kabul.

During his visit to Afghanistan, JK also invited Hamid Awaluddin, who was the Head of the Helsinki Negotiator for Aceh Peace.

During his stay in Kabul, JK also discussed and exchanged ideas on peace with Afghanistan’s Minister of Hajj and Religious Affairs, Muhammad Qosim Halimi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Afghan negotiating team.

Also read: Indonesia supports the ceasefire of the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan

As previously reported, the peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Qatar are set to enter a new phase, after the two sides agreed on the terms of the talks on Wednesday (02/12/2020).

The negotiations, which began in September, were stalled by disagreements over agendas, basic framework for discussion and religious interpretation.

Nader Nadery, a member of the Afghan government negotiation team, tweeted that the intra-Afghan negotiation procedure had been finalized and that discussions on the agenda would continue.

Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem also wrote on Twitter that the procedures for the talks had been finalized and negotiations would begin on the agenda from now on.

The two warring parties met for the first time immediately after the troop withdrawal agreement, which the Taliban and Washington signed in late February.

The United States (US) agreed to withdraw all foreign troops in exchange for security guarantees and the Taliban promised to hold talks with Kabul.