National Consensus for Peace: Empowering Civil Society, Youth, and Women

Speech at the National Conference of Civil Society, Youth, and Women on Peace

Keypoints:

• National Peace Consensus: Building unity for an Afghan-led peace process
• Role of Society: Empowering civil society, youth, and women in peacebuilding
• Rule of Law: Strengthening the state through legal governance
• Ending Conflict: Rejecting decades of war and inherited crises
• Inter-Afghan Dialogue: Calling for direct negotiations among Afghans
• Counter-Terrorism: Addressing regional and transnational threats
• Islamic Values: Promoting peace through Islamic principles and justice
• Economic Justice: Linking peace with poverty reduction and opportunity
• Regional Cooperation: Encouraging constructive relations with neighbors
• National Inclusion: Supporting refugees’ return and social unity

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

Honorable Dr. Sarabi, Honorable Kashaf Sahib, esteemed Deputy Chairs of the High Peace Council, Honorable Khipalwak Sahib, respected representatives of civil society, youth, and the women of Afghanistan; sisters and brothers, members of Parliament, eminent Ulema, and civil society activists: First of all, I offer you the greeting of the Leader of Humanity: Peace and the blessings of Allah be upon you! Do you know why I come to each of you and shake your hands? First, because I am in this position based on your will; and second, because you are the axis of peace, stability, and prosperity in Afghanistan. Without you and your active participation, neither peace nor prosperity and security can be achieved. Civil society, youth, and women must understand their key role. Third, I wish to inhale the fragrance of every province of Afghanistan through you. Each of you is a flower from this garden that is Afghanistan, and from this flower-bed that Afghanistan can become. Fourth, look closely—your President’s heart does not tremble. If anyone imagines that a few gusts of wind will shake this willow tree, let them think again! Our intention is firm, our will is strong, and our patience is high; let no one be deceived by this. Our intention is firm because your resolution is the intention of Afghanistan.

National Consensus and the Islamic Identity of Afghanistan

The national consensus began with the Ulema; today, the youth, women, and civil society activists of Afghanistan—if not one hundred percent, then ninety-eight percent—want the same thing. If this is not a national consensus, then what is? Anyone who claims that the Ulema, mosques, and madrasas of Afghanistan are headed in one direction while civil society, women, and youth are in another should think again. We were Muslims, we are Muslims, and we shall remain so forever. Islam is in our blood and our very existence. Hujwiri was one of us; today he is the Saint of Lahore. Do you want me to name thousands more who taught Islam to others? We stand by the words of Ibn Sina: "It is not easy to call a man like me an infidel, There is no faith more solid than my own. If there is only one like me in the world and he is an infidel, Then there is not a single Muslim left on this earth." Let no one try to teach Islam to Afghanistan. Show me another country in modern history that has given one and a half million martyrs for the Word of Allah. When Afghans raised the banner of Jihad, did even half a percent of the world's thinkers or decision-makers believe this Jihad would succeed? But it was our national faith, our Islamic duty—and today, by the grace of Allah, we possess the best Islamic Constitution in the world! Let them come and challenge our Ulema. We were not born yesterday.

Historical Continuity and the Strength of Unity

This country has at least three thousand years of history and it will endure for at least another five thousand years. I first want to express my gratitude—thank you for coming from every corner of Afghanistan, and thank you for your active participation, your judgment, and your solidarity. The unified front you reflected in today’s resolution strengthens my heart and the heart of every Afghan. Thank you from the bottom of my soul! Secondly, I congratulate you on this consensus. How is consensus created? Consensus is the result of discussion, creating mutual understanding, listening, and feeling the pain. If you do not listen to everyone’s pain—as you did in your committees—how can you understand our shared suffering? Our enemies want to say that the pain of every Afghan is separate; I say our pain and our goals are one, and you are the proof of that. I congratulate the committees and the High Peace Council, as well as Dr. Sarabi, Khipalwak Sahib, and all colleagues, especially those who organized this magnificent and productive assembly. Your heart is my heart, your love is my love, and this love is mutual! This love—this Afghanistan which is the home of every Afghan—is worth our lives and our blood; but we want to build it, not see it destroyed. Others may want to destroy it, but we will never give them permission!

Ending Inherited Crises and Establishing the Rule of Law

My second point is very simple. We have lived in crisis for forty years. For forty years, we have seen martyrs, the wounded, widows, and orphans. My point to you is that crisis is not natural. We do not want to live in crisis; we want an end to these inherited crises. God willing, your generation will end the crises that Afghanistan has inherited. Our youth, women, civil society, and Ulema all stand in one line: crisis is not our destiny. Afghans should not live in bloodshed and agony. And what is required to end these crises? Does anyone doubt that the Afghan nation is a high and great nation? This great nation wants a powerful state that implements the rule of law in every corner of Afghanistan. Sisters and brothers! The power of the state does not lie in tanks, cannons, or bullets; it lies in the rule of law.  The root of a strong state is national consensus. What does national consensus mean? It is simple. Look at our current situation. To the small children who are present here today—whom I welcome, and to the sweet girl who stood up and told me, "I want peace"—the whole nation must answer: why have we not been able to bring peace? It is because we must implement the rule of law, and that will happen. Governance means following the path of Allah.

Economic Justice and Poverty Reduction

The rule of law, brothers and sisters, will allow us to end the poverty we suffer from today. Is it acceptable to you that at least forty percent of this great nation goes to bed hungry? Is the philosophy of our noble religion not based on justice? Have you not all heard the stories of Caliph Omar? Why then are we losing our sense of humanity? Is this extreme inequality acceptable? Does it have a basis in our faith, or is it contrary to our beliefs? I want all Afghans to have a life, rather than having a hundred billionaires. We are not sensitive toward wealth—Hazrat Khadija (RA) was the greatest trader in all of Arabia—but it must be legitimate wealth that serves the people, not the wealth of mafias and criminals. Sisters and brothers! What is our tragedy? One of the richest countries blessed by God lives in poverty and reaches out its hand for help. Look at our location. Before I became President, did anyone talk about our location being "gold"? You were waiting for the day Torkham or Spin Boldak would close. Wait a hundred years—Afghanistan will be prosperous. Understand the value of a teacher, brothers and sisters! I spent fourteen years as a teacher. I was a student of these Ulema [pointing to the scholars]. Some imagine a teacher cannot become a commander—look at me and see how it is possible!

Natural Resources and the Power of Human Capital

Secondly, our water: water will be the greatest wealth of the next forty years. God has given us water; water is our honor, and it will be protected. Our minerals: in Hajigak alone, we have two billion tons of iron. You say Bamyan, Daykundi, and Ghor are poor? Poverty will vanish if you have the courage to develop our natural resources. But what is our most important capital? You. Every youth, woman, scholar, and Afghan here—it is through your courage that everything is possible. We cannot import politics or courage from outside; we cannot "inject" dignity and prestige into someone. These are ours. Look at the history of Afghanistan: every time we had courage and unity, we achieved great things. Why are people so afraid of you? They are not afraid of your today or your yesterday—they are afraid of your tomorrow! I tell them logically: we have no intention of taking anyone else’s home; we only want to live in peace in our own home! But we have always shown that if someone comes to our home with respect, they are our honored guest; but if they come with anger and wrath, this place will be their death!

The Multi-Dimensional War and Global Responsibilities

A few more words: War has dimensions. The first dimension is trans-regional; meaning global terrorist organizations have targeted us. This war is not Afghanistan's war; it is a war upon Afghanistan. Two contradictory ideas and phenomena are clashing. Trans-border terrorist entities want to make us a center of insecurity; they have not a shred of affection for Afghans; they only want to abuse the sacred soil of Afghanistan. A person passes through five other countries without committing a single act of violence, then comes here to kill my daughter, sister, brother, and father. What should I do with him? What is the responsibility of the country to which that terrorist belongs? What is the responsibility of the international community? Second, trans-border criminal organizations: the total value of Afghan opium—which unfortunately rose significantly—is 1.2 billion dollars. Brothers and sisters, if there were two years of peace, and we couldn't bring 4 billion dollars of legitimate revenue from Helmand alone, you can cut off my hand. But the price of heroin rises by ten cents in Iran and by 42 dollars in Europe. There are hundreds of billions of dollars in the criminal drug trade; this is a shared responsibility. Third, sanctuaries: if states, contrary to all accepted norms, provide sanctuary to anti-government and terrorist entities on their soil, what is their responsibility? Everyone knows!

The Internal Dimension and Intra-Afghan Dialogue

The fourth dimension is our internal dimension. We must assess our internal state precisely—village by village, district by district, province by province. There are pains, and you know them; you have analyzed them and I accept your analysis because your analysis is based on reality. You have seen it with your eyes, heard it with your ears, and understood it with your minds. Therefore, the first point you emphasized—which I welcome—is intra-Afghan peace. The peace with Hezb-e-Islami—I congratulate the High Peace Council and the Council of Ulema again—is proof that intra-Afghan peace is possible. Before those negotiations succeeded, on the day the Honorable Engineer [Hekmatyar] came here, who believed this peace was possible? The peace made between Afghans happened in Kabul, within the framework of the Constitution; it was implemented, and we all reached a result. So, I call upon the Taliban: come, let us have intra-Afghan negotiations. If you are Afghans, do not give your authority to a neighboring country! If you give them your authority, do they want us to reach peace? They will define you in a way and tell you things that, first, the youth, women, and civil society will not accept; second, the Ulema will not accept; and third, no segment of Afghan society will accept.

The Three Stages of Peace and the Tradition of Jirga

The intention must be clear. Your representative is the Honorable Qazi Sahib, who has turned his beard white in this path. It is essential to reach intra-Afghan negotiations, which consist of three stages: the pre-negotiation stage, the negotiation stage, and the stage of guaranteeing the peace treaty. My proposal is that the first two stages must be intra-Afghan. In the third stage, the whole world will gather. What is it that we Afghans cannot reach an agreement on? Let a table be prepared for every issue, and then come to negotiations. Is this nation not a nation of Jirgas? Is it not a nation of Markas (mediation)? Have you mediators not resolved hundreds of blood feuds? Have you Ulema not prevented thousands of incidents? Why is someone called a "white-beard"? It is not just because the beard is white; it is because of wisdom, experience, and judgment. Mirwais Khan was only 54 when he passed away, yet everyone called him "Neka" (Grandfather). A white beard signifies experience and wisdom, and our tradition of mediation is very profound. Look at the word Jirga—it exists in all our languages. Between the Turkic languages, Central Afghanistan, and Pashto, the word Jirga is shared. If we, with these shared points in our languages, cannot hold a Jirga, then who can? Do you want me to bring a hundred foreigners to teach you how to hold a Jirga? You could teach them for a hundred years before they could teach you! [Laughter]. We know our Jirgas!

Regional Relations and Global Security Cooperation

The second point: we need comprehensive negotiations with Pakistan. I will not dwell on the past; the past is clear to everyone like the sun. We extend the hand of comprehensive negotiations to Pakistan because this phenomenon of terrorism is a "snake in the sleeve." Has a snake in the sleeve ever benefited anyone? Do not forget that a snake in the sleeve bites the one whose sleeve it is in. Therefore, supporting illegal entities is like harboring a snake in the sleeve. Afghanistan and Pakistan together can bring prosperity to the region, benefiting hundreds of millions of people. The environment is suitable; I hope this comprehensive message is received. Regarding what was said about the final Fatwa: the Ulema are present here. Are the principles of Islam implemented in the whole Islamic world or just in one country? [Response: In all!] Then this Fatwa must first be implemented for Afghanistan! Ask these Ulema: since when is a Fatwa on the interpretation of Islam limited to one country? This is not Socialism, which Stalin limited to one country; the religion of Islam is universal; it encompasses the entire Islamic world. The rest is clear. Is suicide allowed in Islam? Is it a major sin or not? Therefore, it is necessary to remove the "Islamic" motivation from this issue. If there are problems, let them come and talk. Every Afghan who dreams of building this country has that right. The Constitution is clear, sisters and brothers. Can you take away the right of being an Afghan from someone? No such thing exists in the Constitution. Who can take away the right of "Afghaniat" from anyone? Can you stop an Afghan from living in any part of Afghanistan? Being an Afghan gives them that right. We must understand this. If the Constitution needs amendment, it is done through the Loya Jirga—there is a clear mechanism. The third topic is that the fight against these trans-border networks and entities is a universal responsibility. We are the front line of security for the entire world. That is why we have security agreements—to protect our security and the world's. In the Kabul Conference, we must have a fundamental discussion on both trans-border terrorist networks and trans-border criminal networks to define everyone’s responsibility and how we can work together.

The Refugee Crisis and National Unity

My final word: you who are present here today, and other segments of Afghanistan who will come later, you are necessary to one another. One part of Afghan society is not complete until all parts are complete. Understand clearly that as your first servant, I feel as if I am missing a hand and a foot—and that is the issue of our refugees. As long as this country has four million refugees outside, we are not complete. I feel the pain and emotion of every refugee as a faithful son of this land, and you feel it too. God willing, we will make arrangements for their return, but this takes a little time. It is not that I lack the will or intention, but I must prepare the means in the world of causes. Let me build this country. We do not want our people to be in your countries [neighbors]. Do you think a person who applies forty times for a school in another country, only to be told "you are a guest of a few days" despite two generations being born there, feels secure? Do you think it is a life of dignity when someone comes to you in the middle of the night? There is a proverb: "A stranger's bed lasts until midnight"—and at midnight they come and tell you to leave, or they deport you. This is not a life of dignity; we are working on this fundamentally.

Closing Remarks and Future Prospects

In conclusion, I thank you again. These discussions you are having will be the first reference for the Kabul Conference, and after that, the Kabul Process. The Kabul Process means that after the Kabul Conference, conferences will be held in the region, in the Islamic world, and at the international level. we will follow all of these one after another. The proposals you have given me will be implemented one by one.