Ashraf Ghani's grand plan for sustainable peace in Afghanistan

• OPINION
• /
• ASHRAF GHANI
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Afghanistan's president has a plan that would deliver not only peace but also justice, equality and development.
Peace, once seen as an impossible prospect, has now become part of the national discourse in Afghanistan. Last month, for example, around 3,500 women from all ethnic and linguistic groups in the country issued a joint communique calling for a peace in which Afghan women would not be subjected to the horrors of the Taliban era once again. 

The Afghan government is also committed to peace, but just like the women of Afghanistan, it is not ready to settle for any "peace deal". It wants a peace that would reinforce the values of the republic and the fundamental rights and liberties of the Afghan people, not one that would inevitably lead to the collapse of the state and reversal of the gains of the past 18 years.

Today, as a result of increased US pressure on Pakistan and the Taliban, as well as the Afghan government's relentless efforts to solve the country's deep-rooted problems, there is renewed hope for a peaceful, sustainable settlement to Afghanistan's decades-old conflict.

Undoubtedly, this moment has not come without a cost. Thousands of Afghans (and their international partners) sacrificed their lives and resources to get us here. But even these immense sacrifices have not been enough to bring sustainable peace to a country that has been torn apart by conflict for over four decades. Afghanistan now needs a well-rounded strategy and pragmatic leadership to tackle the last few hurdles on its long and treacherous path to peace.

Thankfully, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani devised a comprehensive and practical four-phase strategy to achieve sustainable peace in the country: - Read more

Ashraf Ghani's grand plan for sustainable peace in Afghanistan ...