United States envoy for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, in the U.S. State Department’s briefing on Friday said that there is no “military solution” to the conflict in Afghanistan.
While condemning the recent deadly attacks in Kabul and Nangarhar, Amb. Khalilzad said on his briefing that the Afghan people have had enough of war and they want an end for it.
“I want to condemn the barbaric attacks that took place, particularly the attack on the maternity hospital. We sympathize and empathize with the people of Afghanistan. I know that they are tired of war, they want the war to end, and we stand with them,” he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, May 13, assailants stormed a hospital in west of Kabul, which is run by Doctors Without Border/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), leaving dozens of civilians, including women and infants killed and injured.
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Following the attack, a consecutive appalling attack took place in the eastern Nangarhar province, leaving 32 civilians killed and more than a hundred injured.
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The U.S. chief negotiator, Mr. Khalilzad, said that recent attacks have led to plenty of questions about the peace process.
He then highlighted that there is no military solution for ending Afghanistan’s longest war.
“There is consensus, both in Afghanistan and internationally, that there is no military solution to the war in Afghanistan; that a political solution, a peace agreement among Afghans, is the only realistic option at the present time,” he added.
In his remarks, Mr. Khalilzad said about an agreement struck between the United States and the Taliban that it has opened a “historic opportunity” for moving toward peace in the war-ravaged Afghanistan.
He urged all the parties involved in the war to end the violence, and called on the Afghan President Ghani and his self-proclaimed rival Dr. Abdullah Abdullah to reach a political settlement and form an “inclusive government”.
“Despite the challenges, we have been working hard to deal with them. We have urged all sides to reduce violence. We have urged Afghans to come together to take advantage of the historic opportunity and have pushed President Ghani and Dr. Abdullah to reach a political agreement to form an inclusive government,” he said.
In a Twitter thread yesterday he called on Afghans to seize to the “historic” opportunity for peace in Afghanistan and make no more excuse or delays.
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Blaming the ISISl-K for being responsible for the recent attacks, he said the group “seeks to encourage sectarian war as in Iraq and Syria,” adding that “Rather than falling into ISIS trap and delay peace or create obstacles, Afghans must come together to crush this menace and pursue a historic peace opportunity. No more excuses. Afghans, and the world, deserve better,” he took to Twitter.
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