Kabul: Afghanistan Thursday urged the international community to act against the Taliban’s “war crimes and blatant human rights violations”, saying stopping its violence will be in the interest of the whole world.
Kabul, which also stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire, made the request during the ‘Extended Troika’ talks in Qatar capital Doha, which were attended by representatives from the US, Pakistan, Russia and China.
India has echoed Kabul’s call for a “ceasefire” in Afghanistan, describing the situation here as “concerning”. India attended a separate meeting on the Afghan situation in Doha Thursday — called by the Qatari government — which involves participation by all stakeholders in Afghanistan.
Addressing the meeting of the Extended Troika, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, who represented Afghanistan at the interaction, “stressed the need to start meaningful and sincere negotiations to establish an immediate ceasefire and reach a political agreement”.
“The chairman of the High Council for Reconciliation called on the international community, especially the Troika meeting member states, to adopt serious measures to prevent Taliban attacks on cities, which have led to war crimes, widespread human rights abuses and humanitarian catastrophe,” the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
“The continuation of the Taliban’s bloody attacks in collusion with regional and international terrorists will not only lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and the protraction of war in Afghanistan, but also exacerbate violent extremism and incite terrorists in the region posing a serious and irreparable threat to the collective security of the region and the world,” the statement quoted Abudllah as having said.
Therefore, Abdullah added, “stopping the Taliban violence and crimes in direct collusion with regional and international terrorists will be not only in the interest of Afghanistan but in the interest of the whole world, especially the countries of the region”.
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India ‘supports all peace initiatives’
At a media briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Thursday, India said it is “supporting all peace initiatives in Afghanistan”.
“It is a matter of concern. It is a rapidly evolving situation … We continue to hope that there will be an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire. Our primary concern is peace and stability in that country and offering a prosperous future, independent and sovereign,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
At the meeting in Doha, India was represented by J.P. Singh, Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran). India was invited to attend the meeting during the visit of Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani, Qatar’s special envoy for counter-terrorism and conflict, from 5-8 August.
Asked about reports that Kabul could fall to the Taliban, Bagchi said, “We are monitoring the situation very carefully but there are no plans as such (to close the Embassy in Kabul).”
Bagchi also said India’s decision to evacuate its diplomatic staff from the Mazar-e-Sharif consulate is a “temporary measure” that was taken in view of the security situation in the country.
(Edited by Sunanda Ranjan)