New Delhi

The government in Afghanistan is preparing both for ushering in peace and the war; the Ashraf Ghani government on one side is getting ready for the next round of talks with the Taliban in Doha for ending the ongoing war, it’s also raising an army of civilians to fight alongside its forces to check the advances being made by the Taliban.

President Ashraf Ghani who visited Mazar-e-sharif, capital of Balkh province, and announced his government will pay Af 1000 to civilians who have voluntarily offered to take up arms to defend their city against the Taliban. He said the security situation in the country will improve within three months.

According to Tolo News, Balkh governor Mohammad Farhad Azimi said that some 5,000 fighters (civilians) have been pledged by various politicians and influential people to be part of the public uprising forces while 1,500 of them have already been deployed alongside National Defence Security Force (NDSF) to check advance of Taliban in the province.

“5,000 fighters were mobilized, from whom 1,500 were deployed along with security forces. The rest are waiting for equipment and weapons. They will also contribute to pushing back the enemy’s activities in close coordination with the security forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” said Azimi.

Local officials in Balkh have said that members of public uprising forces have been deployed in the defensive lines around Mazar-e-Sharif city and other districts.

In the meanwhile a 11-member team of Afghan politicians is expected to travel to Doha by the end of this week for talks with the Taliban for bringing the infighting among Afghans to an end.

This will be second such effort after a similar meeting held in Tehran two weeks ago.

Well knowm Afghan leader like Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai, Yunus Qanooni, Karim Khalili, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Salam Rahimi, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi, Enayatullah Baligh and Fatima Gailani are part of the team, sources said. 
The Taliban are yet to announce its team for Doha.

This comes as Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, and former president Hamid Karzai, on Tuesday said they expect important steps to be taken in the peace talks within the next few days. 

Karzai said that meaningful peace talks are expected to resume soon, but he reiterated that the Afghan government and the Taliban should not lose the current opportunity for reconciliation. 
 
“You will soon witness the resumption of meaningful peace negotiations,” Karzai said at a press conference, calling on the people to not lose hope and to remain in the country. “Have patience, have plans, and move toward peace.” 

Some politicians, including former president Karzai’s close aide Abdul Karim Khurram, said the meeting was “highly constructive” during which the two sides shared recommendations with each other. 

Violence and clashes continue in over 20 provinces of the country, but the two sides have not stopped the efforts for peace. US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is in the region and has met with negotiators in Doha in the last two days.