Translation: There is no good in many of their conferences except the conferences of such as enjoin charity, or goodness or the making of peace among men. And who so does that, seeking the pleasure of ALLAH, WE shall soon bestow on him a great reward.) Chapter – ‘Al-Nisa' (the women) (verse – 114)

First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to the ‘Pugwash International Conference on Science and World Affairs', particularly to its Secretary General Prof. Paolo Cotta-Ramusino including his colleagues whose collective efforts made this gathering possible. Similarly, we express our gratitude to the brotherly Islamic government of Qatar which fully facilitated all the participants of this meeting. We pay our good wishes and regards to all the participants.

Respected participants! If we ponder over the recent past history of Afghanistan, the Islamic Movement of Taliban emerged at a critical juncture of time when everything was at stake in our beloved homeland. Every warlord was a tyrant in his own area. His word was his own law and the country was on the verge of disintegration. The international community was a mere spectator of this chaotic situation. It had neither any plan nor any intention of doing anything. In these circumstances, some sincere Afghan Mujahidin and students of religious educational institutions (i.e. madrassas) emerged in the form of the Islamic Movement of Taliban under the leadership of His Excellency the honorable Amir-ul-Momineen, Mulla Mohammad Umar Mujahid (may Allah safeguard him).

This was completely an Islamic and Afghan movement whose only source of rejuvenation was its popularity and support among the people. This was the focal point which enabled this movement in successfully restoring law and order in most parts of the country. The lives, honor and properties of the people were safeguarded, drug trafficking and poppy cultivation were outlawed. The disintegration of the country was halted and a pure Islamic system was implemented in the country. But unfortunately, various countries and circles initiated negative propaganda against this newly established system and newer conspiracies were planned against it on the daily basis.

We admit that the members and officials of the Islamic Emirate had shortcomings as they committed some mistakes in the beginning. Inefficiencies were there but their main objective was to accomplish the objectives of those sacrifices of Mujahidin which were delayed due to the internal factional fighting. These factional wars had deeply undermined both Jihad and Mujahidin. Unfortunately these conspiracies were constant until the United States and her Allied forces finally invaded Afghanistan under the pretext of combatting terrorism and the prevalent control of the Islamic Emirate was terminated.

It has been nearly fourteen years after the invasion in October 2001, all types of tactics and weapons were used by the Americans and her allies against the Afghan masses and Mujahidin. Thousands of Afghans who had nothing to do with the September incident were relentlessly martyred and injured. Numerous of them suffered from fatal diseases due to the frequent use of chemical and biological weapons. Numerous innocent people were incarcerated in Bagram, Guantanamo and other open and secret jails and were ruthlessly tortured. They were kept in detention without any trial and a lot of them are still suffering in these jails. They demolished our houses and orchards. Our sanctities and the pious bodies of martyrs were desecrated even condolence gatherings, funerals and wedding processions were bombarded. But this strategy of force and oppression had no achievement except killing and destruction. It only resulted in a bitter human chaos for Afghans.

On the other side, Americans also suffered material and corporeal losses and their international prestige was undermined. Their own high claims of respecting and protecting basic human rights were violated and rescinded by them. Their short-term and long-term colonial plans remained a dream. If this strategy remains incessant, it will have no constructive outcome even in the future. Instead, besides inflicting sufferings on the Afghans, Americans and their allies will inevitably suffer too as they did in past. If the invading countries are really interested in transforming the present situation in Afghanistan then prior to everything, a realistic policy should be initiated. The legitimate right of the Afghan masses which is sovereignty and an independent system should be recognized as peace and stability can only be restored when justice is maintained and not in the wake of suppression, invasion, discrimination and despotism. The history of our beloved homeland is fraught with evidences.

After this foreword, we would like to express our viewpoint regarding the following issues:

The present scenario:

The present scenario of Afghanistan is the outcome of occupation and the policies adopted in the wake of occupation. On one hand, the country is virtually occupied as the Afghan homes are constantly raided by foreign troops at night in which innocent people are martyred in front of their family members. They are indiscriminately bombarded. The sanctities of the Muslim Afghan masses are desecrated. Arbaki militiamen and other armed personnel related to Kabul based administration play with the lives, honor and properties of the masses and usurp their lands. Above all, women lives which is their basic human right is at risk. There are authentic reports that hundreds of women are victimized in various ways and numerous of them have even lost their lives.

Afghanistan holds top spot in the world in corruption and drug trafficking. Due to these reasons, the country is on a path towards chaos and an unpredictable future. On the other side, efforts are underway to destroy the Islamic and national identity of the state, visible and invisible forces are planting seeds hatred and acrimony among the brotherly nations of our country. Such circles and individuals are deployed inside the country who prefer external vested interests to our own national interests and in this way our national interests are jeopardized. All these factors play a crucial role in the present chaotic scenario of our homeland.

The ongoing resistance is an Islamic and national movement against all these indecencies. Had the ongoing Jihadi resistance not been a national movement, in this world of cause and effect, no group or organization could possibly compete with nearly fifty countries of the world who are fully equipped with sophisticated weapons and modern technology. Nevertheless, our practical observation is that Islamic Emirate is dominant in most part of the country and instead of Kabul based administration courts, the masses prefer to refer their lawsuits to the judges of the Islamic Emirate.

Thousands of electronic and print media outlets of invaders and their supporters are busy in spreading negative propaganda against the ongoing Islamic and national resistance as they want to sabotage the identity and reputation of this Jihadi process. However since it is a national movement therefore they have not succeed in creating a cleavage between Mujahidin and the masses and neither have they pacified the collective will and vigor of the Afghan Mujahid nation. Instead, with the passage of time the Islamic Emirate is engrafted even more deeply in its own masses.

Occupation:

Americans and their allies have invaded militarily the sovereign state of Afghanistan. They have martyred and incarcerated thousands of innocent people. They have desecrated the sanctities of the masses and have demolished their houses, lands and orchards. Therefore, prior to everything, foreign occupation which is the root cause of all these adversities should be terminated so that peace process and mutual inter-Afghan negotiations could proceed. On the other side, regional countries are also solicitous about the presence of foreign forces inside Afghanistan. So the extension of occupation means the persistence of war.

It is a fact that in the presence of foreign forces, an independent government cannot be formed in Afghanistan. Neither can the sovereignty of the country be restored nor can any policy based on Islamic and national interests be implemented. Therefore, as the war was instigated in our beloved homeland with the beginning of foreign occupation, Insha-Allah (God willing) the withdrawal of foreign troops will initiate peace process amongst the Afghans as they will find an opportunity to get together on the basis of their common grounds and establish an Afghan-inclusive Islamic system of life.

What do the Afghans demand?

Afghans love their creed and country. From the time Alexander till the present American invasion, whosoever has violated their land and Islamic and national values, they have resisted both with their lives and properties. Even today they superbly defended their rights which is the Islamic, human and internationally accepted legal right of our masses. Nowhere in the world are Afghans found involved in any subversive activities against any government or nation either. Rather their own homeland has been invaded by others more than once.

Afghans believe in reciprocal reverence and need assistance in the economic, educational, social and cultural aspects of life. They also demand from their own leaders to launch joint efforts for the sovereign, unified, integrated, peaceful and Islamic prestige of Afghanistan. A system which could realize the fruits of Mujahidin's sacrifices. Where justice, stability, development, economic prosperity and tranquility, the right of education for men and women according to Islamic principles and Afghan traditions and freedom of speech are preserved. Which could wipe the tears of orphans and heal the deep wounds of the masses. An Islamic system where all the people and tribes are represented, where top priority is given to the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan and this imposed war is terminated simultaneously with the termination of foreign occupation. All striving and endeavors of the Islamic Emirate are for the accomplishment of the above mentioned objectives and ideals.

Let us affirm that occupation of our country is the root cause of all adversities. The issue of Afghanistan can never be solved by signing un-Islamic and illegitimate agreements rather all these agreements entangles the progress of peace process in Afghanistan. Instead of individual or factional interests, public and national interests should be given priority for peace and stability. It is obvious that peace can be restored in the presence of aforementioned ideals and not through treachery, conflict and oppression.

According to our perception, the basic demand of the people from their leaders is to have strong commitment and resolve for peace. For this purpose, negative propaganda should be abandoned. Unlike the past, a clear and constant standpoint about peace should be maintained.

Peace and national reconciliation:

Peace and stability are the most essential needs of each individual and every country. Peaceful life, economic, educational, cultural, social and political development are mostly impossible without peace. It is obvious that whosoever loves the prosperity, progress and tranquility of his people, he would strive for peace. But peace cannot be attained by hollow statements and slogans rather it requires a strong resolve and concrete efforts. Wherever the masses are deprived of their right of freedom, where truth and justice is replaced by cruelty and injustice, where the right of the poor is usurped, where right and wrong is intermingled, apparently, peace and stability will vanish. Therefore, prior to everything the main causes of jeopardizing peace and stability should be targeted and removed.

In our beloved homeland, foreign occupation is the prime cause in impeding peace and stability. Similarly, oppression, injustice, lack of a viable system, detention of innocent Afghans under various lame excuses and their incarceration without any trial, their agonies, night raids, the punitive black and bounty lists against the leaders and members of the Islamic Emirate, deprivation of various clans of the country are the main obstacles in restoration of peace and stability. With the removal of these obstacles, the Afghans can get together for the sake of their Islamic and national interests and the obstruction for a lasting peace inside the country can be erased.

The peace process should be promoted by those who truly believe in its sanctity, who are well-known among the masses for their sincere reformations, who believe in the restoration of peace as a vital need for the country and not those who accept it only as a conspired and deceiving process. On the contrary, they should deem peace as an essential need for the prosperity and tranquility of Afghans. Similarly, peace should not be misused as a fighting tool where everyone waits for the downfall of his rivals. It should be considered as a basic prerequisite for the attainment for the serenity of the people and our common Islamic and national objectives. Regretfully saying, in the past there are examples where instead of conceiving it as an essential requirement, peace is misused as a tactic. Peace can only be restored when the causes of protracting the war are terminated which fans the flames of fighting.

We would like to say that both internal and external factors can play their role in halting the peace process. Among the external factors, the Americans and their allies should yield to the collective will of the Afghan masses. They should abandon the policy of suppression and withdraw all their forces from Afghanistan.

The unfounded blame of terrorism which has no links with the Islamic Emirate are not only hindering the peace process rather these negative propagation are stirring the flames of war. Similarly as an essential prerequisite for peace, the Islamic Emirate should be given its legitimate right to convey its message in its own voice and language to the world. To hear from world and to be able to respond to it.

Regarding the internal factors, it must be regretfully said that whenever the Islamic Emirate has moved forward towards peace, it has been practically halted by signings of the so called strategic agreement and security agreement. Unfounded and biased propaganda has been launched to sabotage the peace process and it has been halted by various lame excuses. The Kabul based administration has taken such steps which have jeopardized peace process and simultaneously, make it appear as if it is not anti-peace.

Instead of direct negotiation with the Islamic Emirate, it has been proposed to talk with the neighboring countries. In the beginning, when the news of setting up an office for peace talks was spread, the ambassador of the then Kabul based administration was called from Doha to Kabul and when the office of the Islamic Emirate was inaugurated for peace talks in Qatar, it was sternly opposed by the Kabul administration which accelerated planned negative anti-peace propaganda.

We would like to say that, over all, peace is a common requirement. It is the only window of opportunity for preserving the legitimate right of the people and restoring of tranquility and stability in the country.

Office:

A place of contact for talks in the shape of an office is a need. At present, the Islamic Emirate does not avail a manifested address for holding peace talks which is an essential requirement. It is obvious that organized meetings regarding peace can only be held in the presence of an office. It is equally necessary for the office to issue press releases related to peace, to answer questions and remove the anxieties of people.

We have observed that in the recent past, due to the absence of an office, some contradictory and baseless reports about peace process were spread out which instigated questions and trepidations amongst the people. These propagations are not only biased rumors rather they are conspired for disrupting the peace process which has inevitable psychological effects on the masses. Had there been an office, the in-charge spokesman would have been there and these rumors in the form of questions could have been adequately answered which could have countered the unfounded and biased reports.

Black List:

This is a baseless, unjustifiable and blind list which even includes personalities who have no links with the Islamic Emirate. Some of them are working with Kabul based administration and some of them have passed away but are still enlisted. The peace process and the black list are two contradictory suggestions which has no resemblance with each other. Therefore the black list and the bounty list should be immediately announced null and void.

It is equally necessary that both sides involved in peace process should move forward in an atmosphere free from all pressures. It is unconvincing that one side is black listed, cannot move freely and is constantly monitored while the other side is free and carries the black list as a card which can be used by them as a pressuring tool whenever needed or desired. This unhinged process can neither make progress nor can it deliver the anticipated conclusion.

Neighboring countries, peace and the withdrawal of foreign forces:

Peace and the complete withdrawal of foreign troops are correlated with each other as the withdrawal of foreign forces can inevitably instigate the peace process. Unfortunately, the restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan is still misused as a tactic by the regional and international players which has always been utilized in the past as a raw material for the active involvement in the internal affairs of our country. Still, peace is not given a strategic place in the working plan of Kabul based administration rather it has always been misused for deceiving the masses of our country.

We observed that instead of a realistic peace process, some parties perceive they would induce the Islamic Emirate to surrender. They conceive and endeavor to debilitate the Islamic Emirate militarily and then force them from their point of strength to accept peace. But it is a sheer self-deception which contradicts the prevailing ground realities. This is the same timeworn formula which has been tried by the Americans for the last fourteen years but has remained futile. We similarly observe no significant change in the policy of the Kabul based administration rather the same worn-out, anti-peace, pro-occupation and antagonistic strategy is pursued by them.

Strong determination and concrete strategy is the pre-requisite of peace and not the fluctuating stance which has been witnessed in the previous decade where the morning statement is totally inconsistent with the evening one.

Similarly the international and neighboring powers should sincerely endeavor in the restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan. Just like all other people of the world, the Afghans have the right of having a free and prosperous homeland and to establish a system based on their own Islamic and national values. This can have positive effects and outcomes for the security and development of the neighboring countries as well as the international community.

Constitution:

In the present day world, every state and government enjoys a clear and comprehensive constitution for the consolidation of their internal and external affairs so that a progressive and prosperous lifestyle could be provided to the masses, where every individual could discern his duty in the context of the law. A constitution is an inevitable need of every country because without having one, both the progress of the state and the prosperity of the masses can face various hurdles and intricacies. Through the constitution, the civil and political rights of every individual and community of Afghanistan are managed. It will provide and guarantee the unbiased and undiscriminating just rights to all the brotherly nations of Afghanistan. It will clarify the configuration of rights and duties between the government and the citizens. It will elaborate the balance and division of power among the three major pillars of the government. It will specify the form, structure and power. Over all, it will get the support of both the Afghan masses and the international community regarding the internal and foreign policies of Afghanistan.

Therefore, it is considered a necessity by the Islamic Emirate to have a constitution for the progress of our beloved homeland as well as its heroic people. A constitution which is based on the pious principles of the sacred religion of Islam, our historical prestige and social justice, which is committed to human dignity, national values and basic human rights, which could guarantee the territorial integrity of our country and could preserve all rights of the people, which is free of any statement or article contrary to Islamic rules, national interests and Afghan traditions. This constitution will provide the balance of political power and the equal participation of all Afghan sides in the future governments.

We frankly and courageously affirm that this constitution will be drafted by Afghan intellectuals in a free and independent atmosphere which will then be presented to the masses for approval. The present constitution of Afghanistan is unreliable because it is imitated from the west and is drafted under the shadow of B-52 bombers of the foreign invaders. Its contents are vague and inconsistent which are imposed on the Muslim masses of Afghanistan.

The political, social, economic and cultural perspective of Afghanistan:

The members of the Islamic Emirate have emerged from the masses and live amongst them. They have rendered sacrifices to accomplish and preserve the Islamic and national aspirations of the masses so that we could have a peaceful, sovereign homeland where our masses could live independently and manage their economic, social, cultural and political affairs in the light and guidance of Islamic and national rules and regulations.

Moreover the Islamic Emirate is committed to all rights of women in all walks of life which are bestowed upon them in the sacred religion of Islam. Women have the right to choose her life-partner. She has the right of ownership and inheritance. She has the right of acquiring knowledge and work. The Islamic Emirate will ensure and provide all these rights in a balanced way in which they are neither deprived of their just and legitimate rights nor are their human dignity and Islamic values are jeopardized.

The foundation and protection of public utility places is considered an established need for sustaining the Islamic system. Bridges, tunnels, dams, irrigational canals, power stations and supply lines, mineral extraction, oil refining and its installations, educational institutions, madrassas, mosques, schools, universities, health centers, clinics, hospitals and likewise other places of public interest are considered by the Islamic Emirate as common assets of the masses whose protection is its essential obligation.

The head of the Islamic Emirate, his Excellency, the Amir-ul-Momineen, Mulla Mohammad Umar Mujahid (may Allah safeguard him) has always reminded in his regular Eid felicitation messages to protect and defend the lives, honor and properties of the masses. He has always insisted on prevention of civilian losses and protection of places of public interests. Similarly, contrary to the negative propaganda of the enemy, the Islamic Emirate does not believe in the policy of exclusive control of power, as Afghanistan is the common dwelling place of all Afghans. As its defense is the common obligation of all Afghans similarly, all of them have equal rights of participation in its reconstruction.

Peace and reconciliation and support of the international community:

Prior to everything, the world community should realize all the legitimate rights of Afghan masses which include the right of defending their creed, country and masses which is presently executed by the Mujahid Afghan people. The melodrama under the disguise of combatting terrorism must be concluded. It will be beneficial for the world community to play an impartial role in the restoration of peace and stability inside Afghanistan and to refrain from sacrificing Afghans for their own vested colonial objectives.

No one can suppress or repress the spirit of independence in masses by the dint of force or weapons. On the contrary, the more the people are oppressed, the deeper the spirit of freedom is rooted in them and their resolve of resistance is intensified. The international community can achieve in peaceful co-existence and harmony with Afghans what can never be achieved in their acrimony and enmity.

The Islamic Emirate reiterates once again, as a policy statement that neither has it any harmful intentions towards anyone, nor will it allow anyone else to use the soil of Afghanistan against anyone. It is determined, for the prosperity of its own masses in all walks of life, to have cordial relations with all countries of the world and welcomes the sincere efforts of everyone in the restoration of peace and stability in Afghanistan.

With best wishes!

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

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