KABUL, Afghanistan

At a critical juncture in Afghanistan for presidential polls in September, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, former prime minister and candidate to run in the upcoming election, adamantly rejected Sunday the idea of an interim set-up in the war-ravaged country.

Addressing a presser in the capital Kabul, the veteran Jihadi figure stressed fair and inclusive presidential polls alone can ensure peace and sustainability in the country.

“… no Afghan including migrants, displaced persons and those who live in insecure areas should be excluded from the election,” he said, stressing peace and sustainability can only prevail if the polls are held in a fair and inclusive environment.

Hekmatyar -- who served as prime minister in an interim set-up in the 1990s before the country plunged into a deadly civil war -- underlined the only way for peaceful and proper transfer of power is through fair polls.

His remarks came as the U.S. and the Taliban are in Doha, Qatar for talks on peace Afghanistan.

On Saturday, the parties took a two-day break from the talks to allow an intra-Afghan peace dialogue.

Scores of political figures in the opposition are pushing for an interim set-up rather than the scheduled polls ahead of a proposed peace deal with the Taliban, which is an idea also vehemently rejected by President Ashraf Ghani.

Meanwhile, the Election Support Group, an alliance of key donors such as the EU, Australia, Sweden (on behalf of the Nordic plus), Germany, Japan, the U.K, the U.S. as well as NATO and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on Sunday urged the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan to continue making progress in its preparations for the elections scheduled for Sept. 28, 2019.

A total of 18 candidates are set to compete in the elections, including current President Ghani, his power-sharing CEO Abdullah Abdullah, former National Security Adviser Mohammad Haneef Atmar, and seasoned former Mujahedeen leader Hekmatyar.