Rahimi discusses peace with Wolesi Jirga members

The Special Representative of the President and the State Minister for Peace on Sunday met with the members of the Wolesi Jirga’s International Affairs Commission when he shared information about the peace process with them while listening and responding to their questions and suggestions.
In the meeting, which was held earlier this afternoon, Helmand Helmand, chairman of the International Affairs Commission, termed the bringing of peace as an urgent necessity of the country and stressed over availing the opportunities and identifying the challenges.
The lawmakers expressed their views regarding the sustainability of peace and inquired about the aim behind creating the State Ministry for Peace (SMP).
The State Minister for Peace Abdul Salam Rahimi described sharing information with peoples' representatives regarding the peace process as essential in order to mobilize public support to the process.
Rahimi cited the Consultative Loya Jirga representatives’ suggestion and demand for building the capacity of peace-related institutions as the reasons behind the establishment of SMP.
Rahimi added that SMP, have specific schemes and plans, was working on three phases of a peace deal – including pre-peace, during and post-peace processes.
The president's special envoy continued to say that bringing about national and international coordination, as well as coming together under a single umbrella for peace-related affairs, was one of the goals of the newly-established ministry.
“We are now well aware of all peace-related matters and the international community continuously keeps the Afghan government in the loop regarding new developments and progresses in the talks with the Taliban,” Rahimi added.
The State Minister for Peace insisted that achieving peace necessitated national cohesion and a single voice, adding that there should be a mutual understanding between both the sides “and we should feel each other's pain.”
In the end, Rahimi emphasized that peace was a national process and besides the ministry, all national and international stakeholders had a responsibility to oversee its execution.