April 25 (The Killid Group) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in a tweet called on the armed Taliban to reduce violence to allow the the of intra-Afghan peace negotiations.
“The U.S. and its @NATO allies continue to call on the Taliban to decrease violence in #Afghanistan to help create the conditions for intra-Afghan negotiations,” said Mr. Esper on his Twitter page.
The U.S. Defense Secretary has also urged all factions involved in the peace process to seize the opportunity for a “sustainable peace” and ending the longest conflict in Afghanistan.
“Now is the time for all parties to embrace the opportunity to deliver a sustainable peace,” he said.
Mr. Esper’s call for reducing violence came a day after the Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani also demanded a reduction in the group’s assaults for the holy month of Ramadan, a call the insurgents dismissed.
Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the office of the insurgents in Qatar said in a tweet on Thursday that calling for a truce is not “rational and convincing” at a time that lives of thousands of [Taliban] inmates are in danger due to coronavirus pandemic.
According to the insurgent group, a full implementation of the peace pact signed between the U.S. and the group would pave the path for the intra-Afghan peace talks and a lasting ceasefire.
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