It is time for Taliban to show will for seeking peace: Ghani

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says that it is time for the Taliban to show their intention for bringing peace in the country.

In an exclusive interview with BBC on Monday, Ghani stated that his five-year term mattered less than peace.

“It is time for the Taliban and their supporters to show the same will for seeking peace as they have demonstrated for seeking conflict,” Ghani told the BBC.

In the meantime, Ghani insisted that:” The future will be determined by the people of Afghanistan, not by somebody sitting behind the desk, dreaming”.

During the interview Ghani was asked if the Taliban might seize power militarily, President Ghani said the Taliban had tried but failed, although the reporter blamed the Taliban’s failure on support from foreign forces, Ghani relates to the will of the government and says Afghanistan is not Vietnam to fall.

“I have one criteria holding of elections. The republic is a system that runs by the will of the people. The source of legitimacy of the next government has to be absolutely clear, it has to be the will of the people of Afghanistan,” Ghani said.

Ghani stated that both the government and the Taliban were preparing for warfare. But he dismissed fears of a Taliban military victory, stating: “This is not Vietnam. The government is not collapsing.” 

President Ghani, meanwhile, declined to comment on the number of foreign troops needed or how long they should stay in Afghanistan.

Ghani stated: “It depends on the intensity of the war.” 

The US military officials, however, have constantly stressed the need for keeping a number of US troops in Afghanistan.