By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has responded bullishly on Monday to increased aggression from the Taliban by warning that the government would not enter peace talks with the militants from a weak position.
A surge of violence since the Taliban launched a spring offensive in April has worried the government, which has held informal talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar and China.
“The enemy is attempting to disrupt security in northern provinces to sabotage the implementation of economic projects," Ghani told army officers while visiting northern Herat province on Monday.
"Afghans will respond with force in the war imposed on us," he said, adding that the “enemy wants us weak but we are negotiating from a position of strength”.
Since taking office in September last year, Ghani has been keen to pursue peace talks with the Taliban in order to end the conflict and focus on rebuilding the Afghan economy.
His comments on Monday however highlighted that Ghani also intends to challenge the Taliban militancy, as he signaled after taking office with the signing of a bilateral agreement with the U.S. to ensure further co-operation with scaled-down foreign forces.
Last week, Afghan media claimed Ghani had written a letter to neighboring Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, calling for the urgent implementation of anti-terror measures.
Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of holding influence over, and even sponsoring, Taliban militants operating in Afghanistan.
