Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar held talks on Wednesday with Yousef al-Othaimeen, the secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Saudi Arabia and discussed the current peace talks being held in Doha, Qatar. 

In a statement, the Jeddah-based organization said discussions were held on the peace process, and on how the OIC can support the talks. 

Al-Othaimeen reiterated the OIC’s commitment to supporting the Afghan people, and development projects in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Atmar praised the OIC for its role in forging unity among Islamic countries in support of the peace process and for issuing special resolutions to form a consensus among Islamic countries to resolve the crisis in Afghanistan. 

At the meeting, Atmar called the war in Afghanistan illegitimate from the point of view of Islam.

“The crimes that are being committed in Afghanistan today are completely incompatible with the beliefs of Muslims and Islamic teachings; Attacks on female judges, killings of Kabul University students and attacks on maternity hospitals are certainly not justifiable in Islam,” he said.

Atmar also stated that if the opposition is truly committed to peace, the Afghan government would not see any obstacles to national reconciliation and the success of the peace process, and would be ready to pave the way for political participation on all sides in accordance with the free will of the Afghan people and internationally accepted standards.

“We want the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to continue its previous demands to end the bloodshed and resolve the political crisis in Afghanistan through holding follow-up meetings, expert consultations and sending special groups to consult with the teams,” he said. 

In response to the Foreign Minister’s remarks, the Secretary-General of the OIC said that he commends and supports the flexible and adaptable position of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan towards peace.

Al-Othaimeen pointed out that killing, violence and intimidation are contrary to the essence of Islam and that people should be made aware that Islam is not a religion of terror and violence, but a religion of unity and convergence. 

He praised the role of religious scholars in this regard, saying that scholars in Islamic societies have an important position not only from a religious point of view but also from a political point of view.

The Taliban is demanding a total Islamic system in Afghanistan, stating that there is no possibility of reforming the current government, sources said Wednesday.

This comes after the Afghan Republic’s talks team and the Taliban team resumed negotiations in Doha two weeks ago. However, the two sides have not made any significant progress since the start of the second round of negotiations.

But sources familiar with the ongoing peace talks told Ariana News that the Taliban are not interested in discussing an agenda with the Republic’s team, and that the group is focused instead on the following issues:

1- The Taliban is demanding the release of their remaining prisoners and the removal of the group’s leaders and members from the US Blacklist; the Afghan government has however requested the US not to give in to the Taliban’s demands.

2- The Taliban demands a pure Islamic system in Afghanistan, stating that the current government cannot be reformed.

3- Apparently, the Taliban are waiting for US President-elect Joe Biden to be inaugurated and to see what his position will be with regards to the Afghan peace process.

4- The Taliban says that the targeted killings of civilians, including the assassination of two female judges this week in Kabul, were unavoidable as they all supported a “puppet government”.

The Taliban has, however, so far, not commented on these claims.

Meanwhile, Vice President Amrullah Saleh stated that in order to move forward with the peace talks, trust needs to be built between the two sides. This, he said, will not be “achieved by killing civilians or kidnapping people from highways.”

In his daily 6:30 am meeting, Saleh threatened the Taliban that if the militant group continues to kill innocent people, members of civil society, and carry out bombings, “then not just the release of Taliban prisoners will be on the peace talks agenda but their lives will be” a point of discussion.