Religious scholars issue declaration for Afghan peace

JAKARTA: A trilateral meeting of the religious scholars of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Indonesia ended in Indonesia with the participants of the meeting declaring full support to Afghan government’s peace offer while denouncing terrorism as un-Islamic.

The religious scholars of the three countries issued a joint declaration at the end of the meeting, urging the Taliban group to accept the Afghan government’s offer for peace and reconciliation.

The declaration states that war and violence have no place in Islam, emphasizing that Islam is a religion of peace.The participants of the meeting specifically declared their support to President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani’s offer to the Taliban group regarding peace and reconciliation which he offered during the Kabul Process summit in February.

They also declared their support and endorsed the efforts of the regional countries as well as the international community aimed at bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan. The religious scholars of the three countries stated in their declaration that a conducive environment for peace exist in Afghanistan as they urged all parties involved in the conflict to participate in direct negotiations.

The Taliban group has not formally commented regarding the meeting and the declaration of the religious scholars so far.This comes as the Taliban group has so far rejected to participate in any form of negotiation despite the ongoing efforts by the government and international community to end the ongoing violence through reconciliation.