Govt hails international community’s statement, Taliban slam it

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghan government on Monday praised the international community’s joint statement on targeted killings and destruction of public infrastructures in Afghanistan, but the Taliban slammed it as untrue.

The European Union, NATO and a number of embassies in Kabul in a joint statement issued on Sunday condemned the recent targeted killings and destruction of infrastructure and claimed the Taliban were involved in many of these attacks.

The Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the statement of the international community.

In a statement, MoF said the government of Afghanistan was committed to a ceasefire, reduction of violence and lasting peace and had taken all necessary steps in this regard.

The ministry said the Afghan government was thankful to the international community and other countries for their cooperation in this regard.

Meanwhile, Taliban in a statement said the representatives of some European and other countries had made baseless allegations against the group.

The Taliban said the joint statement accused them of unprovoked fighting, killing civilians, destroying public places and carrying out targeted killings, but they deny such claims, the statement said.

The movement’s statement said the Taliban were not involved in any killings of civilians, nor they had destroyed any public facilities but instead they considered it their responsibility to protect and maintain public facilities.

“From the beginning, the Taliban’s policy has been to resolve issues through dialogue. The main and primary factor in the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan is the foreign occupation which has killed Afghans for 20 years,” the statement added.

The Taliban said it was “unfortunate” that most countries, including the EU, had directly or indirectly been involved in tragedies, destruction, bombings, assassinations and other crimes over the past 20 years, with some still trying to destabilize Afghanistan.

In the joint statement, the EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States said that the continuation of assassinations, kidnappings, and destruction of vital infrastructure – all which directly harm the Afghan people.

“The international community has invested heavily in energy, food security, water resources, and road infrastructure for the benefit of the Afghan people. We condemn the on-going destruction of vital infrastructure, including digging up roads, destroying cell towers, and blowing up energy stations by the Taliban”.

“These actions serve no purpose besides hurting the Afghan people who – largely due to decades of conflict -suffer from food insecurity and significant economic and development challenges, further exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic,” the statement added.

sa/ma

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