KABUL, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- The chairman of Afghan High Peace Council passed away on Saturday at the age of 85, an official said.
"Pir Sayed Ahmad Gilani died due to an illness at a hospital in Kabul late on Saturday," Farhadullah Farhad, deputy to HPC Secretariat, told Xinhua.
Gailani was also the leader of Mahaz-i-Milli Islami Party, a mujahidin faction, which fought against the troops of former Soviet Union in 1980s.
The Afghan government set up the 70-member High Peace Council and launched the peace and reconciliation process in 2010 to encourage Taliban to disarm and give up militancy against the government.
Since mid-2010, more than 10,000 Taliban militants have laid down arms and joined the government-backed peace process, according to HPC officials, but the claim has been rejected by the armed outfit as "baseless."
