President Ashraf Ghani challenges Afghan Reconciliation Council; accuses it of overreach

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday held a meeting with his predecessor Hamid Karzai and known Aghan intellectual Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf. During the meeting, Ashraf Ghani said that decisions on constitutional amendments and adoption of a republican governance model are not under the remit of the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation. President's statement regarding constitutional amendments came amid reports that the negotiators of the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha have agreed on the modalities of the peace process in a 21-article document.

READ | Afghan President Ghani Congratulates Joe Biden, Kamala Harris On US Election Victory

Ghani challenges the Reconciliation Council's authority

The sources at the meeting also informed that Representatives of the High Council for Reconciliation also partake in the talks. Asserting that he would 'never adhere to the principles of republicanism' Ghani said that he will never bargain on 'the first and second articles of the constitutions & on the safety of the security and defence forces. Stating that High Council has no authority to make decisions that belong to the people of Afghan under the constitutions, the Afghan leader also stressed that it would be the State of Afghanistan to be mentioned in the Doha Document as a party to the talks. 

READ | Taliban Asserts Afghan Peace Negotiators Agreed On Procedural Rules During Talks In Doha

READ | International Community Concerned Over Presence Of Terror Groups In Afghanistan & Region

Since September 12, the peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have been underway in Qatar's capital Doha. Afghanistan in the peace talks is demanding a permanent ceasefire. Other key topics on this agenda include Afghanistan's future political system and a range of social issues. Meanwhile, the Taliban movement wants Afghanistan to adopt the Islamic system of governance. The intra-Afghan reconciliation demands a withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. 

READ | Chief Afghan Peace Envoy Says US Troops Pulling Out Too

(With ANI inputs)