Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in his Eid-ul-Adha message declared peace with Pakistan as its ‘national agenda,’ on Friday.
Ghani reached out to Pakistan, offering “comprehensive negotiations” to bring peace to the two countries’ troubled relationship.
"We want peace that is based on unanimous political views," the Afghan president said, adding that the world now knows that it is not possible to pressurise Afghanistan into doing anything.
In his address in the president house, Ghani said the country was ready to take steps for regional peace and stability, based on logical debate and reasoning.
"I am reaching out for peace to everyone," he said. "Because peace is God's commandment."
He urged insurgents to lay down their weapons, adding that the offer for peaceful negotiations was open for all including the Taliban but Afghanistan will not bow down in front of any entity.
Afghanistan is celebrating the Islamic holiday that commemorated Prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son. Pakistan will celebrate Eid on Saturday.
Islamabad accuses its neighbour of allowing its enemies to find sanctuaries in Afghanistan, while Kabul routinely accuses Pakistan of harbouring Taliban insurgents.
Border tensions have strained ties between the neighbours. Afghanistan refuses to accept the Durand line as the international border. Firefights between the armies have broken out amid Pakistan’s attempts to fence it.
