'Lay down weapons for good': NATO missions urge Taliban to end violations in Afghanistan

Representatives from fifteen NATO members in Afghanistan called upon the Islamist Fundamentalist group Taliban to put the ongoing violations to an end. While an ongoing negotiation between the Taliban and Afghanistan government has raised prospects of peace in the central Asian country, it has still not deterred the group from conducting armed attacks. Taliban, which ruled the country with an iron fist from 1996 to 2000 has once again regained control of the land after capturing more than a third of the designated territory. 

Joint call for peace

In a joint statement, all the 15 NATO missions called for a cessation of Taliban’s military violations pointing out that they were only thwarting efforts to negotiate peace. The participants include Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the EU Delegation, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, the Office of NATO and Senior Civilian Representative, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The statement condemns targeted assassinations over the country, destruction of infrastructures, threats, declarations, and other actions against the gains of the past 20 years.

"This Eid al-Adha, the Taliban should lay down their weapons for good and show the world their commitment to the peace process,” the 15 missions and the NATO representative said, referring to Tuesday’s Muslim holiday in Afghanistan," the 15 mission said in a statement. “It has resulted in the loss of innocent Afghan lives, including through continued targeted killings, displacement of the civilian population, looting and burning of buildings, destruction of vital infrastructure, and damage to communication networks," they added. 

This comes as the Afghan government delegation led by Abdullah Abdullah, the second-highest Afghan official and the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation held talks with Taliban leadersDoha. In the aftermath, the Afghan government and Taliban issued a joint statement on the situation and agreed to prevent civilian casualties. Both sides have agreed to protect the country’s civilian infrastructure, prevent civilian casualties, and cooperate with humanitarian assistance. 

Image: AP/Representative Image