Activists demand end to conflict, talks resumption

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghan Youths Peace Council and women’s rights activists on Monday called for an end to the war and resumption of peace negotiations, saying the Taliban’s office in Qatar should be closed if talks did not happen.

Intra-Afghan peace talks between the Taliban and Afghan government started on September 12, 2020 in Doha, but the talks produced no any significant breakthroughs and the conflict currently has unprecedentedly intensified in Afghanistan.

In the last three months, Taliban captured nearly 200 districts and six provinces.

Afghan Youths Peace Council and women’s rights activists today held a meeting in Kabul.

Samira Ehsani, a member of the council addressing the event said that the Afghan people were optimistic that the peace negotiations would lead to stability in the country, but on the contrary, both sides turned to war and deteriorated the situation.

She termed the current situation of Afghanistan as worrisome and asked the government and the Taliban to arrive again at the negotiating table for ensuring peace in the country. Otherwise, the Taliban’s office in Qatar should be closed and emergency should be declared, she added.

Ehsani addressing security officials said, “Your tactical retreats led the war to reach Kabul, we have no comports in the city, our people in conflict areas starve, for God’s sake stop war.”

Mariam Naibi, a women’s rights activist, speaking to the meeting, said, “If a proxy peace is imposed on us, it will for sure have worse consequences, Pakistan should end its intelligence games, they will never reach our water and mines.”

Zahra Amiri, head of the council, said that the ongoing conflict should be stopped immediately as ordinary people, particularly children and women, were mostly affected. She said that the Taliban still in their areas used bayonet and lashes and set markets on fire.

However, Taliban have repeatedly rejected these claims and said that the group had directed its fighters not to mistreat people.

Participants of today’s meeting urged an end to the war in the country and Taliban attacks and said that ‘the ongoing war have no any religious basis, but it was even against Sharia.”

Mds/ma

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