Taliban say they won’t monopolise power but President Ghani must go

The Taliban have swiftly captured territory in recent weeks, as the last U.S. and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan.

The Taliban say they don’t want to monopolize power, but they insist there won’t be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed.

Afghan President Ghani has often said he will remain in office until new elections can determine the next government.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, laid out the insurgents’ stance on what should come next in a country on the precipice.

The Taliban have swiftly captured territory in recent weeks, as the last U.S. and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan.

Shaheen said the government’s repeated demands for a ceasefire while Ghani stayed in power were tantamount to demanding a Taliban surrender.

Before any ceasefire, there must be an agreement on a new government “acceptable to us and to other Afghans,” he said.

Ghani has often said he will remain in office until new elections can determine the next government.