The Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani says the Afghan government has taken necessary steps to reach to a peace deal with Pakistan.

Speaking to local residents and elders of southern Zabul province, President Ghani rejected the perceptions that Afghanistan wants destruction of Pakistan.

He said this is neither the notion of the Afghan government and nation nor will Afghanistan allow anyone to do bad with the country.

President Ghani also added that such perceptions that the government’s strategies regarding peace efforts are not clear, are also baseless.

This comes as President Ghani has long been insisting on peace with Pakistan first approach.

In his message on the first day of Eid Al-Adha, President Ghani said the Afghan government is fully prepared for the peace talks and negotiations with Pakistan for peace is on the agenda of the government.

He was apparently gesturing towards his previous remarks where he insisted that peace talks with Pakistan is important and should come first before holding talks with the anti-government armed militant groups.

The Afghan officials have long been criticizing Pakistan for allowing the Taliban and the notorious Haqqani terrorist network to use its soil for planning and coordinating attacks in Afghanistan, calling it as one of the major barriers in forcing the militant groups to participate in talks.