Afghan government welcomes Taliban leader's readiness for peace

The government of Afghanistan has welcomed the readiness of a Taliban leader named Mullah Motasim Agha Jan for peace talks and insisted that any talks for achieving peace must be Afghan-led and Afghan owned, local media reported on Tuesday. "This is a new initiative by Motasim Agha Jan for achieving peace in Afghanistan and the High Peace Council (HPC) welcomes it, " the spokesman of the government-backed peace body the HPC said, according to newspaper The Daily Afghanistan. Agha Jan, who according to media reports has been living in Turkey, in a message couple of days ago had expressed Taliban leadership's readiness for holding peace talks with the government of Afghanistan. However, Taliban leadership reportedly stationed in Quetta of Pakistan has yet to make comment on Agha Jan's statement. Meanwhile, another newspaper the Daily Mandegar in an article published in its Tuesday edition says that both Afghan Foreign Ministry and the National Security Council of Afghanistan have appreciated the latest stance of Taliban outfit announced by Agha Jan days ago. Nevertheless, Mandegar doubts the accuracy of the statement attributed to Motasim Aghan Jan. "It is a question that how far Agha Jan is representing Taliban leadership,"Mandegar questioned in an article published Tuesday. "No Taliban statement for peace has legal valuable unless it bears the signature of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar," Mandegar said in the article citing a political analyst Jawed Kohistani. Meantime, a private television channel Tolo in its news bulletin aired on Tuesday reported that a delegation of High Peace Council headed by presidential adviser Mohammad Masoom Stanikzai has gone to Dubai to hold peace talks with Mutasim Agha Jan and other Taliban leaders.