Everyone in Afghanistan, young and old, men, women, and children, is happy about the ongoing peace negotiations.

We welcome the fact that the Taliban are currently prepared to negotiate peace with the United States. However, the Taliban is still refusing to negotiate directly with representatives of the Afghan government. We agree with this position since the government under Ashraf Ghani is corrupt and involved in nepotism. This government works with thieves who have stolen the state's wealth for their own personal advantage.

Of course, we and the Afghan people demand that Afghan interests not be sacrificed in any peace agreement.

We would like to thank the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan for their efforts towards securing peace for Afghanistan. Restoring peace in Afghanistan is also in the interests of our neighbours and the entire world.

In October 2018, so-called elections for parliament were held in Afghanistan, but more than 70% of the votes were falsified We and the Afghan people have criticised this manipulation of the election results. The electoral commission claims to have separated the valid votes from the invalid ones. Instead, its members have sold the votes in exchange for bribes from the mafia currently running Afghanistan. It has been reported that votes were sold for between 2000 and 4000 Afghanis each ($27 to $54), which means that the bribes amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Afghan people were cheated both in how the parliamentary elections were conducted and in the alleged recounting of the ballots. The people are understandable upset and disappointed with this double fraud. We, too, are dissatisfied with the elections and do not accept these results.

Ashraf Ghani and his gang are already planning to steal the upcoming presidential election. Consequently, It cannot be considered a free election, since the results will be determined in favour of the Afghan mafia. We will not accept any presidential election that is manipulated. We call for a boycott of the election since it is only a staged spectacle being run by Ashraf Ghani and his henchmen. The formation of a new transitional government that would exclude this Afghan mafia would help maintain order and discipline in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the media is reporting that the US government is planning to reduce the number of its soldiers in Afghanistan.

The terrorists should not think that this will mean everything will be in play if and when the US withdraws. The Afghan army is strong enough and is getting stronger by the day. Its military equipment is constantly being modernised. The Afghan army has successfully defended the country for the past 4 years. A partial withdrawal of US forces will therefore have no major impact on Afghanistan's security. The US and the world community, meanwhile, will continue to support Afghanistan both financially and militarily. Ifnecessary, the USA could increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan at any time.

Dear President Trump, you are the best president for the United States of America. Your foreign and domestic policies are outstanding. You have made positive changes for the US strategy in Afghanistan. Afghanistan still needs support from the US and the world community.

With best wishes,

Hayattullah Maiwand

Chairman of the FDPA

Date: 24.12.2018