Afghanistan’s foreign minister accused the Taliban of carrying out the country’s worst violence in two decades on Tuesday, urging the international community to work with the Taliban to persuade them to respect a February 2020 agreement with the US to halt violence and enter peace talks.
Mohammad Haneef Atmar told the U.N. Security Council that with the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops “to be completed in the coming weeks,” the international community should also establish a “mechanism” to monitor implementation of the agreement reached in Qatar’s capital Doha and the council resolution supporting it, “and to take appropriate measures to ensure compliance.”
The United States agreed to withdraw its troops in exchange for a Taliban promise to denounce terrorist groups and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a staging ground for attacks on the United States, to reduce violence and work with the government on a permanent cease-fire, and to engage in peace talks with the government.
In his virtual briefing to the council’s ministerial meeting, Atmar stated that the US and regional partners have fulfilled almost all of the agreement’s obligations, but that “it’s a sad reality that the Taliban has not honoured any of its obligations,” leaving the country and region “dangerously unstable.”
He cited the Taliban’s refusal to break relations with international terrorist groups, claiming that it is sponsoring not only al-Qaida, but also regional terrorist groups… in pursuit of their brutality campaign against Afghanistan and other countries.
He encouraged Taliban to explain to international community why they claim to be fighting foreign troops in Afghanistan and are killing their fellow Afghans, particularly civilians, in areas where foreign troops are leaving the country now.
The United States called for an end bloodshed, three days ahead of a visit by President Ashraf Ghani to the White House.
“We urge the sides to engage in serious negotiations that determine a political roadmap for Afghanistan’s future,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
“We continue to call for an end to the ongoing violence that has been driven largely by the Taliban,” Price said.
