Afghans want rights of women, inclusive government: Former Prez Hamid Karzai

Kabul [Afghanistan], January 31 (ANI): Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has said that the formation of an inclusive government and respecting the rights of women are the will of the Afghans, local media reported.
In an interview with Tolo News, Karzai said that he and Abdullah Abdullah, former chairman of the high council for national reconciliation, in a letter to the Islamic Emirate called for political reconciliation process and meetings with the political leaders over holding a Loya Jirga (National Assembly) to pave the way for a clear destiny of the country.
Karzai suggested that the Afghans must find a solution to the existing conditions of the country instead of waiting for foreigners' proposals.
"We offered a process of political and national engagement with some of the Afghan politicians-- with women, and men of Afghanistan--a summit, in which the Afghan women are also present and eventually a national process for holding the Loya Jirga (national assembly) which is our national and historic tradition," Tolo News quoted Karzai as saying.
The Taliban said that it has been trying to pave the ground for intra-Afghan talks.
"The Islamic Emirate is attempting to pave the way for further negotiations among the Afghans to find a good solution for some of the issues which concerns the Afghans and international community," Tolo News quoted Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesperson for the Islamic Emirate as saying.
The formation of an inclusive government and ensuring human rights and women's rights are the preconditions of the international community to consider recognition of the current Afghan government.
"If the world wants it or not? if the UN calls on the Afghans or not? If the UN calls on the caretaker government or not? This is the first will of the Afghans to have an inclusive and national government that represents all and ensures the rights of women and their role in the society and girls' access to education. These are our fundamentals and they should be," Karzai said.
Karzai also criticized the process of distribution of aid to the people in the country. He said, "If the aid provided to Afghanistan by the international community is not distributed through the Afghan government departments, and the NGOs, UN and other foreigners are in direct contact with the people, then it is the start of ... the end of the government in Afghanistan," Tolo News reported.
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since the Taliban took control of Kabul in mid-August last year.
A combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets, and international sanctions on the Taliban, have plunged the country, already suffering from high poverty levels, into a full-blown economic crisis. (ANI)