Youth Contact Group for Peace

Paktia Youths and New Generation Peace Jirga

The Youths and New Generation Peace Jirga was held in Gardez the capital of Paktia province on October 14, 2020 in. The Jirga was convened by the YCGP in the presence of hundreds of young people and representatives of the new generation who participated from 15 administrative units of the province.

The Youths and New Generation Peace Jirga of Paktia province consisted of three sections, which included the inauguration, the work of the working committees, the presentation of the working committee decisions, and the presentation of the resolution. At the beginning, Seyed Jamaluddin Asefkhel delivered an inauguration speech and welcomed all participants to the program, adding: "Peace is a basic need of the Afghan people and the factions involved must make sincere efforts for a peaceful Afghanistan."

Ehsanullah Hekmat, a member of the leadership of the YCGP, added that compared to the city, there was more war in the villages and hamlets, and the people of these areas were more affected. He also called on the warring parties to end hate speech and war literature and to show restraint. Abdul Qadir Hamas, Juma Gol Afghan, Khalid Zadran, Ahmadullah Ahmadi and Asghar Majad also spoke.

In the second part of the program, the work of the working committees began and the members of the Jirga exchanged views on six issues. The opinions of the members of the Jirga unified and in the third part of the program were presented by the officials of each committee. Meanwhile, the secretaries of the ten committees drafted and presented the final resolution of the Youth and New Generation Peace Jirga of Paktia Province.

Paktia Province Youths and New Generation Peace Jirga resolution

The Youths and New Generation Peace Jirga was held on October 14, 2020 in Paktia province, Gardez city with the presence of hundreds of young people. The Jirga was organized by YCGP in which representatives of the new generation and youths from 15 administrative units of the province participated and shared their decisions and demands from the GIRoA, the Taliban and the International Community, especially the US, as following:

1. The youths should be present on the negotiating teams and the achievements of the last twenty years of youths should not be sacrificed in the peace process.

2. The principles of Islamic law should be given serious attention, and the peace agreement should be in the light of Islamic principles.

3. The peace process must be inclusive.

4. The Afghanistan Government and the Islamic Movement of Taliban must be flexible in their positions and work together brotherly.

5. We call on the GIRoA to include the families of the martyrs and victims of the war in the peace process.

6. The GIRoA must commend all individuals and sides who are trying to pursue their personal interests in the peace process.

7. The republican system must not be dealt and a permanent ceasefire must be established.

8. Afghan youths should have direct talks with the Taliban independently, and we call on the Taliban, the Afghanistan Government and the International Community to facilitate the direct dialogue of youths with the Taliban.

9. The peace process must be honestly followed with the Taliban and national interests must be given priority.

10. We call on the GIRoA and the Taliban to not use civilians as shields and take the necessary measures to prevent civilian casualties.

11. We call on the Taliban to establish cease fire as soon as possible, and we request from both sides to stop killing Afghans in which foreigners are getting benefit of it.

12. We call on the Taliban to pay serious attention to women's rights from the Islamic perspective during the peace talks, and allow them to have the right to education and work.

13. We call on the Taliban to not damage the national capital "educational centers and public projects" and allow public projects to be completed.

14. We call on the GIRoA and the Taliban to jointly prevent killing and harassing of the civilians.

15. We call on the Taliban to not be influenced by pressure of foreigners and neighboring countries and cut off their contacts with all terrorist groups and make their decisions independently.

16. We call on the US, neighbors and Islamic countries to be honest in the Afghan peace process and work to succeed the process. We also ask them to continue their assistance with Afghanistan.

17. We call on the International Community to support the Afghan peace process regardless of any interests and put pressure on the Taliban and the Afghan Government to make the process successful.

18. We call on the US to refrain from any foreign interference that would hamper the Afghan peace process.

19. The youths should hold various programs in the peace process and force the GIRoA and the Taliban to make intra-Afghan talks successful.

20. The International Community, Islamic countries and neighboring countries must guarantee the implementation of the peace agreement.

21. Paktia province has suffered a lot from the current war in the country; the residents of the province are facing risk of death. This province has been tolerated economic, educational and agricultural damages.

22. A national consensus at the Afghanistan level should be established to monitor the peace process.

Best Regards

Paktia Province - Youths and New Generation Peace Jirga

October 14, 2020