Ahead of Doha peace meeting failed to guarantee a ceasefire between Afghan government and Taliban; Fifteen diplomatic missions and the NATO representative in Kabul joined hands to urge the Taliban to halt military offensives across Afghanistan.
A senior delegation of Afghan leaders met the Taliban's political leadership in the Qatari capital over the last two days, but a Taliban statement issued late on Sunday made no mention of a halt to Afghanistan's rising violence.
"This Eid al Adha, the Taliban should lay down their weapons for good and show the world their commitment to the peace process," the 15 missions and the NATO representative said on Monday, referring to Tuesday's Muslim holiday in Afghanistan.
Tonight alongside members of the delegation, we had a detailed meeting with the Republic's Negotiation Team in Doha. We listened to their report & had an open exchange of views on the peace talks, & the ways to accelerate the process. I thanked them for their hard work & patient. pic.twitter.com/yvpUGNgr23
— Dr. Abdullah Abdullah (@DrabdullahCE) July 16, 2021
The joint statement was supported by Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the European Union delegation, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Britain and the United States and NATO's senior civilian representative.
Over the last few Eid holidays, the Taliban have called temporary ceasefires, saying they wanted to let Afghans spend them in peace.
No announcement from Taliban
This time there has been no such announcement, as the Taliban make swift territorial gains in near-unprecedented levels of fighting nationwide.
The Doha peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban ended and the two sides agreed on the need to speed up talks to reach a political solution. pic.twitter.com/IMBdv8CwFg
— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) July 19, 2021
The insurgents have been emboldened as foreign forces near a complete withdrawal after 20 years of fighting.
Monday's statement also condemned rights violations, such as efforts to shut schools and media outfits reported by media in areas recently captured by the Taliban, which has previously denied such assertions.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
