“Only the people of Afghanistan can guarantee the success of the peace process”, said Abdul Salam Rahimy

Abdul Salam Rahimy, Special Representative of the President and the State Minister for Peace, said in a meeting with the "Advisory and Coordination Board of Civil Society Institutions for Peace" that the only guarantee for the success of the peace process is the people of Afghanistan. 
At the beginning of the meeting, Laila Jafari, head of the political establishments and civil society institutions, expressed her gratitude for the presence of the board members in the meeting, saying that the board was established under the umbrella of 70 civil society institutes to strengthen the voice of civil society institutions for inclusive peace. They are represented by 40 board members, and the State Ministry for Peace provides facilities for them to take their advice on the peace process.
She added that the board has so far developed its working mechanism by holding six working sessions at the committee level and two assembly sessions, and has also issued two press releases announcing its position on the process of releasing prisoners and other bloody attacks.
Baryalai Omarzai, a member of the Advisory and Coordination Board of Civil Society Institutions for Peace, then spoke about the board's goals, saying that unifying the voice of civil society in the peace process, collecting and transmitting the voice of the people, highlighting the wishes and concerns of the people and monitoring, advocacy and supporting the peace process is one of the important goals of this board.
Samiullah Hamidi, another board member from the Southwest zone, provided information about the board's goals and working principles.
Speaking on behalf of civil society activists from Kapisa, Parwan and Panjshir, Farhad Behroz, another member of the board, while announcing the support of civil society organizations in these three provinces for the peace process, added that the citizens of these provinces want lasting and just peace; But they want their opinions and views to be included in the process.
He expressed his concern over the absence of real representatives of civil society organizations in the peace process and called for the participation of civil society organizations and youth in the peace process.
Enayatullah Khaliq, from the Northeast Zone, on behalf of all zones, called the escalation of in violence as the greatest concern of the people and said that since peacebuilding and conflict resolution are among the major activities of civil society organizations, they can work together to create peace dialogue. This will help them to closely cooperate with the government to ensure peace.
Roqia Alemi Balkhi, another member of the board, shared the board's demands with participants of the meeting, saying that these demands came from the people. The establishment of a joint commission by the negotiating team to monitor the de-escalation of violence, involve civil society institutions in the peace process, and the acceptance of the board mechanism by both sides of the negotiating table was one of the recommendations of the board.
Expressing gratitude to the board members, Abdul Salam Rahimy said the government wants the active participation of civil society organizations in the peace process. Mr. Rahimy said that the results of the peace process depend on collective work and the creation of an atmosphere of cooperation and coordination between the government and various segments of society, including civil society institutions, and said that a single and coherent voice for peace will lead us to the desired result.
He stressed that in the peace negotiations, if the will of all the people is included and all the people are represented, the victory will be for the people of Afghanistan.
The Special Representative of the President reiterated the unity and voice of the people and civil society institutions for peace, saying that civil society institutions should address the demands of the people.
He also welcomed the establishment of the Advisory and Coordination Board of Civil Society Institutions for Peace, and pledged that the State Ministry for Peace would work with them to facilitate the activities of civil society institutions for peace.
Mr. Rahimy, while emphasizing that the voice of the civil society organization should include the villages and towns, said that the guarantee of the success of the peace process is only the people of Afghanistan.
It is noteworthy that the Advisory and Coordination Board of Civil Society Institutions for Peace was established at the suggestion of civil society institutions during a consultative meeting attended by 70 civil society organizations.