Addressing the 72nd session of UN General Assembly, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed President Donald Trump’s recently announced strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia, as well as plans to send more troops to Afghanistan. He said that enduring peace in Afghanistan could only be achieved through a political settlement, and reiterated his previous call for the Afghan Taliban “to engage in intra-Afghan dialogue for a political settlement … [since] the Taliban would not win through war and that the group could only achieve their goals through political ways.”[1] Articulating further, he said that “the roots of terrorism were outside Afghanistan’s borders, and that there are over 20 international terrorist groups with an imposed presence on Afghan soil.” [2] Speaking about achieving peace in the region, President Ghani said “there was an opportunity for a dialogue between Kabul and her neighbours to work together earnestly to eliminate terrorism and contain extremism …. [and Pakistan should] engage with Kabul on a comprehensive state to state dialogue on peace, security and regional cooperation leading to prosperity.” [3]
