Int’l community seeks ‘urgent end’ to Taliban offensive

KABUL: More than a dozen diplomatic missions in Afghanistan on Monday called for “an urgent end” to the Taliban´s ruthless military offensive, saying it was at odds with claims they want to secure a political deal to end the conflict.

The statement — signed by the United States, the European Union, and more than a dozen other missions in Kabul — follows another round of inconclusive talks in Doha over the weekend between the Afghan government and the Taliban that many hoped would kickstart the ailing peace process.

“The Taliban´s offensive is in direct contradiction to their claim to support a negotiated settlement,” the statement read. “It has resulted in loss of innocent Afghan lives, including through continued targeted killings, displacement of the civilian population, looting and burning of buildings, destruction of vital infrastructure, and damage to communication networks.”

For months, the two sides have been meeting on and off in the Qatari capital but have achieved little, if any, notable success — with the discussions appearing to have lost momentum as the militants made enormous battlefield gains. A joint statement released late Sunday said little more than they had agreed on the need to reach a “just solution”, and to meet again next week. “We also agreed that there should be no pause in the negotiations,” Abdullah Abdullah, who oversees the Afghan government´s delegation, told AFP on Monday.

He noted, however, that neither side was currently pursuing a joint ceasefire during the talks, despite urgent calls from Afghan civil society and the international community to end the surge in fighting.

The US special envoy on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who met with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Monday, welcomed the latest round of talks but tweeted that “more must be done, urgently”.

Fighting continued to flare in Afghanistan with both the Taliban and government making claims of taking and re-taking territory in various areas across the country.Despite coming days ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday, the statement notably made no mention of a formal call for a ceasefire. Over the years, the Taliban have announced a series of short truces during Islamic holidays.

With foreign forces in the last stages of a withdrawal due to be complete by the end of August, the Taliban have cut a huge swath across Afghanistan, capturing hundreds of districts, seizing key border crossings and encircling provincial capitals.