US Urges Afghans to Set Disputes Aside to Combat Virus

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Khalilzad

By Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 26, 2020

ISLAMABAD – The United States has again demanded that Afghanistan’s feuding leaders and the Taliban insurgency set internal disputes aside and cease armed violence to focus on combating the coronavirus pandemic.

American peace envoy to the country, Zalmay Khalilzad, made the call Sunday through a series of tweets to wish Afghans a happy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

“The well-being of the Afghan people and the country itself depend on all parties devoting their full energies to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the shared enemy of all,” Khalilzad emphasized.

At least 50 people have died out of 1,500 people who contracted the coronavirus in Afghanistan and the number of infections continues to spread in a country where decades of war has left an already underdeveloped public health system in shambles.

Khalilzad said that Ramadan, which began on Friday, offered Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival, Abdullah Abdullah “the opportunity to put the interest of the country ahead of their own.”

Both the rival leaders claim to have won the September 28 presidential election and held competing inauguration ceremonies last month. The political crisis paralyzed national governance just when a U.S. negotiated peace-building agreement with the Taliban had raised hopes for finding a negotiated end to years of hostilities in Afghanistan.

“Similarly, Ramadan offers the Taliban an opportunity to embrace a humanitarian ceasefire to reduce violence and suspend offensive military operations until the health crisis is over,” Khalilzad stressed.

But the Islamist insurgent group in a statement Sunday again rejected domestic and international calls for reducing violence or declaring a ceasefire during Ramadan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid insisted the implementation of its February 29th U.S. troop withdrawal agreement with Washington was the “sole path” toward ending their nearly 19-year-old war and establishing peace in Afghanistan.

Mujahid noted the deal signed in February had required both sides to release thousands of prisoners within ten days of the signing ceremony to lay the ground for Afghan warring sides to negotiate a political settlement to the conflict.

“Intra-Afghan negotiations itself would have laid the groundwork for peace, security and end of hostilities and perhaps we would have made major progress on it till now,” Mujahid said. The dialogue was supposed to open on March 10.

The Taliban spokesman, however, accused the U.S.-backed Afghan government, which was not part of the pact, of creating hurdles in the way of implementation of the deal from the outset and using delaying tactics on the prisoner swap issue.

He went on to also accuse American and NATO troops of violating the agreement, saying the alliance continues to provide weapons and ammunition to the Afghan government to fuel the conflict.

“Demanding a ceasefire and reduction in violence at a time when the opposite side is not executing its own obligations is both illogical and opportunistic,” Mujahid said.

The U.S. military denies insurgent charges of deal violations and maintains the agreement binds it to support Afghan forces if attacked.

U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett tweeted Sunday it “is committed to our support for ANDSF [Afghan National Defense Security Force] and we continue to work together despite COVID-19.”

The U.S.-Taliban agreement called for the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners, and 1,000 Afghan government personnel held by the insurgent group by March 10, when the two rivals were supposed to open direct peace talks.

But the Ghani government has to date rebased 550 insurgent inmates as part its own plan, subject to a reduction in Taliban violence and the opening of peace talks. The Taliban has responded by freeing 60 Afghan security forces, though Kabul says most of the released men were non-combatants.

In his Sunday statement, Khalilzad also urged both sides to accelerate the release of prisoners. “The war on COVID-19 makes it urgent and will also aid the peace process including getting intra-Afghan negotiations underway,” he noted.

While the Taliban insists it is living up to its side of the agreement, the insurgents have in recent days carried out major attacks against Afghan security forces, killing more than 100 of them just in the past week.

Afghan officials have also accused the Taliban of killing or injuring up to 800 civilians during this period, charges Taliban officials have denied.

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Tolo News: The Ministry of Public Health on Saturday announced that the confirmed cases of the coronavirus reached 1,463 in the country, but assured the public that the shortage of RNA extraction kits has been resolved. The total number of known deaths from COVID-19 is now 47.  Click here to read more (external link).

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Afghan National Football Team head coach’s contract to be extended

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Ariana: The contract of Anosh Dastgir, the head coach of the Afghan national football team, will be extended until the end of the qualifying tournaments for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Asian Cup. Officials at the Afghan Football Federation say they have no choice but for Anosh to continue to lead the country’s national football team, while there are still three months to go before the coach’s contract with the federation expires. Click here to read more (external link).

Still No Reconciliation Council, Impasse Remains

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Tolo News: There has been no progress on the formation of the High Council of Peace and Reconciliation as Abdullah Abdullah, President Ghani’s political opponent, has not presented his proposed plan to the Presidential Palace. Abdullah last month rejected a proposed plan by President Ghani in which Ghani proposed that Abdullah lead the High Council of Peace and Reconciliation,  a government institution tasked with leading peace efforts and establishing the framework for negotiations with the Taliban. Abdullah’s aides last week said a proposed plan had been prepared by their team and it would be shared with Ghani in the near future. Click here to read more (external link).

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Official: Recent Taliban Violence Harms Hundreds of Afghan Civilians

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Taliban militants (file photo)

By Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 25, 2020

ISLAMABAD – Officials in Afghanistan alleged Saturday the Taliban has “killed or wounded” nearly 800 civilians since signing the February 29 peace-building deal with the United States. A spokesman for the Islamist insurgency swiftly rejected the charges.

The allegations came on a day when Washington’s peace envoy for the war-torn country, Zalmay Khalilzad, again called on the warring sides to work for peace, saying the U.S.-Taliban agreement “provides a historic opportunity for Afghanistan.”

A national security council spokesman in Kabul, while releasing details of the stepped-up insurgent violence, claimed the Taliban conducted more than 2,800 “terrorist activities” between Feb. 29 and April 20, killing and wounding “789 civilians during this period.”

Javid Faisal went on to say Afghan security forces in counter attacks also inflicted more than 2,700 casualties on the Taliban. “Last week was the bloodiest since the U.S.-Taliban deal, with the Taliban killing 34 and wounding 62 civilians across 17 provinces,” he said without elaborating.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, when contacted by VOA for his reaction, questioned the veracity of the government claim on civilian casualties.

“This is a general claim, can they say where and when?” Shaheen asked.

Battlefield clashes have escalated in Afghanistan as the annual spring fighting season arrives, killing scores of combatants on both sides in the past week alone. Afghan media reported government forces suffered up to 100 deaths.

US seeks quick prisoner swap

The violence prompted U.S. and NATO allies to urge Afghan leaders to focus on the next steps outlined in the agreement to promote peace and stability in the country.

“How urgently and with what conviction the sides respond to these steps will determine whether Afghanistan moves forward or remains mired in war, poverty, and disease,” said Khalilzad.

Khalilzad was referring to an extremely slow-moving prisoner swap between Kabul and the Taliban, a crucial confidence-building step before parties to the war can come to the negotiating table to discuss peace and a power-sharing arrangement.

Under the U.S.-Taliban agreement, up to 5,000 insurgent prisoners were to be freed from Afghan jails in return for 1,000 government forces being held by the Taliban. But Kabul has so far released around 550 prisoners in phases and the Taliban has freed 60 detainees.

Khalilzad, in his statement Saturday, stressed the need for all sides to “move more quickly on prisoner releases” and urged the Taliban to reduce violence.

The Afghan government is demanding the Taliban declare a cease-fire and engage in a productive peace dialogue before all prisoners are freed.

The insurgents, however, have rejected calls for a cease-fire, insisting only a “full implementation” of its agreement with Washington would move the peace process forward.

“This is our stance that the prisoners should be released prior to commencement of intra-Afghan negotiations,” Taliban spokesman Shaheen told VOA.

He reiterated that his group is determined to deliver on its own commitments outlined in the pact with the United States.

The agreement requires all U.S. and coalition forces to withdraw from Afghanistan by July 2021 in return for insurgent assurances not to allow the country to be used for terrorist attacks against other countries.

“We want good relations with our neighboring countries as well as of the region. As per the agreement, we will not allow anyone to use our soil against any other country. For that, we will make legislation in the future,” Shaheen told VOA.

Political crisis  

Kickstarting intra-Afghan negotiations, however, is not the only challenge facing the landmark U.S.-Taliban accord. A lingering dispute stemming from the September presidential election in Afghanistan continues to hamper efforts to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table.

Incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and runner-up Abdullah Abdullah both claim to have won the election. The rival Afghan leaders held competing inauguration ceremonies last month, fueling political tensions at a time when Kabul was supposed to present an inclusive negotiating team for the proposed intra-Afghan dialogue with the Taliban.

Khalilzad backed NATO’s call this week for the Ghani government to end the political crisis, urging Afghan leaders on Saturday “to put their country and their people first.”

Afghanistan: COVID-19 Cases Reach 1,351

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Tolo News: The confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus reached 1,351 with 63 new cases reported on Friday amid a serious shortage of testing supplies and treatment equipment in the country’s health centers. In the last 24 hours, five patients recovered in Herat and four recovered in Kandahar, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 188. Also, one death was reported in Kandahar, bringing the total number of deaths in Afghanistan to 43. Click here to read more (external link).

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Taliban Rejects Afghan Truce Calls During Ramadan

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By Ayaz Gul
VOA News
April 23, 2020

ISLAMABAD – The Taliban has turned down calls for a cease-fire in Afghanistan during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins Friday. The Afghan government and others had hoped to enable health officials to better respond to the “common threat” of the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesman for the Islamist insurgency argued Thursday that its agreement with the United States outlines an internationally endorsed “comprehensive framework” on how to promote Afghan peace.

“If it is implemented [fully], it will take us to a lasting cease-fire and peace,” tweeted Suhail Shaheen, referring to the February 29 landmark U.S.-Taliban pact.

The agreement for a phased withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops from Afghanistan calls for the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners from Afghan jails in exchange for 1,000 government security forces being held by the insurgents.

The U.S.-Taliban deal, endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, required the prisoner swap to be concluded by March 10, when Taliban and Afghan teams were supposed to open direct peace talks to negotiate a sustainable cease-fire and power-sharing arrangement.

“In a time that the lives of thousands of [Taliban] prisoners are being put into danger due to the coronavirus and hurdles are created in the way of the [Afghan] peace process and complete implementation of the agreement, despite that, asking for cease-fire is not rational and convincing,” Shaheen said.

The Afghan government, which was not part of the accord, began a phased release of prisoners earlier this month and so far has freed fewer than 500 Taliban inmates.

In return, the Taliban have set free 60 prisoners, although Afghan officials insist the released men are mostly civilians.

Analysts say the slow pace of the prisoner swap means it will be many weeks if not months before much-sought intra-Afghan talks could begin.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s embattled government and the United Nations have both urged the Taliban to cease hostilities during the Ramadan fasting month, citing the looming pandemic threat.

Afghanistan has reported nearly 1,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more than 40 people have died. But officials and critics fear the number could be much higher, citing very small-scale testing.

Deborah Lyons, head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan, in a message Thursday underscored the need for warring sides to respond to her institution’s call for a cease-fire.

“At a time of increased uncertainty, with COVID-19 presenting another deadly challenge for the country and for the world community, I strongly encourage everyone to get behind the secretary-general’s urgent call for a global cease-fire to silence the guns and enable all Afghans to come together to fight the pandemic,” Lyons said.

The Taliban have rejected similar calls in the past. In 2018, however, the insurgent group agreed to a cease-fire during Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

The U.S.-initiated peace deal is also threatened by a lingering political feud over who has emerged as the legitimate president of Afghanistan following the controversial election last September and a recent surge in Taliban attacks that killed scores of Afghan forces.

Incumbent Ghani has been officially declared as the winner of the Afghan presidential polls, but runner-up Abdullah Abdullah rejected the outcome. The rival leaders held competing inauguration ceremonies last month, politically paralyzing the war-shattered country.

The political dispute has provoked Washington to cut $1 billion in assistance for Afghanistan this year, vowing to cut another $1 billion next year if Ghani and Abdullah fail to agree on forming an “inclusive” government.