Taliban warn of attacking election campaign rallies

KABUL warned on Tuesday of attacking presidential election rallies, asking the people to keep aloof from such gatherings.

In a statement on its website, the militant movement asked its fighters to stand against the ballot, slated for September 28. The polls have already been delayed twice.

While denouncing the vote as theatrical and sham, the Taliban urged the Afghans to stay away from campaign events, which could come under attack.

“To prevent losses from being incurred by our fellow compatriots, they must stay away from gatherings and rallies that could become potential targets,” the message said.

The elections did not have any value, the movement claimed, recalling fraud in the 2014 presidential ballot. To prevent a political crisis, the US convinced President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah into signing a power-sharing deal.

The Taliban said the focus should be efforts to conclude a peace deal with the United States, not the September election. The agreement may include a US commitment on the withdrawal of its troops from the country.

“This election process is nothing more than a ploy to deceive the common people and satisfying the ego of a small number of sham politicians,” the statement added.

Both Taliban and US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad have hinted at making considerable progress in the eighth round of talks in Doha. The two sides are expected to sign an agreement by the end of August.

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