KABUL – *The Afghan government has said reports of it handing over parts ofthe country to the Taliban as part of the peace process are completelyuntrue. *
The Taliban meanwhile said in a statement on Sunday that any such movewould mean the “partition of Afghanistan”.
In the statement the group said it opposed the move.
The Afghan government said there was no truth in the rumors and that therewere no plans to hand over parts of the country to the Taliban.
One of the earliest reports in this regard was by the New York times whichnoted Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the reconciled leader of Hizb-e-Islami group,had suggested that in order to bring peace, government should handover someparts of the country to the Taliban.
“In peace talks, the plan to split the county was not on the agenda at all;our plan is that those who are willing to join the peace process shouldcome and live in the country freely,” said Jawed Faisal, deputy spokesmanfor the CEO Abdullah Abdullah.
While the Afghan government is hoping for peace, the Afghan securityinstitutions will still continue their military offensive againstinsurgents.
“We want peace, but we will fight against those who continue to wage war,”a defense ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said.
Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish meanwhile said: “We will fighttill the end against those who do not endorse peace and we will drive themoff the battle fields.”
However some experts are skeptical about government’s peace policy.
“The Taliban will not endorse peace talks without increased militarypressure,” said MP Musa Khan Nusrat.
President Ashraf Ghani recently hosted the Kabul Process meeting where heoffered a peace deal to the Taliban in a bid to get them to thenegotiations table.