Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: Peace in Afghanistan is in the best interest of regional countries, therefore the Afghan government is working for the establishment of durable peace and stability, the country’s top leadership said Wednesday.
President Ashraf Ghani said this while delivering speech at a ceremony for the introduction of new defense and interior ministers at the Presidential Palace.
Former Head of National Directorate of Security Asadullah Khaled replaced Tariq Shah Bahrami as acting Defense Minister, and Amruallah Saleh, another ex-spymaster replaced Wais Ahmad Barmak as Interior Minister.
Ex-spymaster Asadullah Khalid replaced Tariq Shah Bahrami as acting defence minister while Amrullah Saleh succeeded Wais Ahmad Barmak as interior minister.
“We are working for the establishment of lasting peace and stability but also decisively manage the conflict,” the president remarked.
Ghani hailed the performance of Bahrami and Barmak, saying on the basis of the principle of change within the government and keeping in mind the circumstances, Khalid and Saleh had been appointed as defence and interior ministers.
“Despite having differences on certain questions, Khalid and Salesh remained cooperative in issues of national interest. Both have different styles of leadership and specific visions.
“Using their experiences in the area of intelligence was a national duty and finally it was decided to get benefit of the energy and experience of the two military experts,” he said.
Ghani added the government had clear views about restoring peace and a specific plan was also being devised for this purpose. Tue plan was in line with the national consensus.
Ghani said he still believed in complete international support. Afghanistan’s relationships with different nationswould be built on the basis of mutual benefits.
The president made it clear that no one would be allowed to use Afghanistan’s soil for negative activities.
He thanked the international community for its support and said: “The picture we want to show the world is that we should be at the centre of cooperation and coordination,
:”Terrorism is a huge regional threat. Therefore, a peaceful Afghanistan is vital to regional stability.”
The peace effort, he said, was a complex process, according to Ghani, who said the complexity was witnessed at the Abdu Dabi meeting.
Referring to the recent deadly attack in Kabul, the president said foreign terrorist networks would not stop carrying such attacks in Afghanistan.
“I want to tell the Taliban that by denying involvement in the attack or condemning it, they could not escape the blame. If the Taliban are not directly involved, they provide a platform for others to carry out such attacks,” Ghani concluded.
