The Islamic Emirate is planning to convene a Loya Jirga (great assembly) to assess the current issues in Afghanistan.
The assembly has yet to be marked with any special title, according to a spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, who said the move to hold the gathering followed meetings in China that aimed to find a solution for the current Afghan problems.
“We haven’t named it yet, but a gathering of Afghans will be held and will discuss some issues,” Islamic Emirate Spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said.
Earlier, the Iran special envoy for Afghanistan, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi, said the Islamic Emirate will soon hold a Loya Jirga (National Assembly). He said the Islamic Emirate leaders kicked off negotiations with its opponent as well.
The call to hold a great assembly and the start of a reconciliation process was made by several Afghan and foreign officials including the former president Hamid Karzai, US special envoy for Afghanistan Thomas West, as well as the European Union.
“This is the will of all Afghans. This is the time to hold a real Loya Jirga. The people will play their role and the unity of Afghans will be displayed inside the country and to the world,” said Shahzada Masoud, a political analyst.
“Not everyone agrees that the Loya Jirga by the government can find solutions for the Afghan problems, but it is a good step considering the current situation, however not enough,” said Javid Javid, an international relations analyst.
However, the date and venue of the assembly is not yet clear. Other delegates said that the heads of the committees of the Jirga did not provide information about the identity of the prisoners when they were asked by members.
“Unfortunately, the government didn’t make it clear to the delegates for a decision regarding this,” said Khodadad Sultani, a Jirga delegate.
“Our friends’ view was that their identities should be disclosed and should be shared on social media so that everyone would know who they are,” said Fazl-Ul-Haq Mohammadi, a delegate of the Jirga.
President Ghani on Saturday said that the 400 prisoners are Afghan citizens, but some delegates said keeping the identity of the prisoners unknown is questionable.
“It was a political decision and we said that it will provide the way for peace if the 400 prisoners are released,” said Rajab Ali Ibrahimi, a Jirga delegate.
“We judged based on the information provided to us by the media. We were the judges who did not know the crime of our suspects,” said Abdul Hameed, a Jirga delegate.
According to government data, 156 of them have been sentenced to death, 105 of them are accused of murder, 34 of them are accused of kidnaping that led to murder, 51 of them are accused of drug smuggling, 44 of them are on the blacklist of the Afghan government and its allies, 6 of them are accused of other crimes, 4 of them have unspecified crimes.—Tolonews
