TALIBAN LEADERS: Taliban political leaders Suhil Shaheen (left), Mawlawi Shahabuddin Dilawar (center) and Mohammad Naim (right) visited Moscow last week. Photo: AP
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A number of countries’ embassies in Afghanistan are demanding that the Taliban immediately end its offensive and return to the negotiating table. Norway has not signed.
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A joint statement, signed by other US and EU embassies in Kabul, noted that the Taliban’s military offensive contradicts previous statements that they want a negotiated solution.
– It has resulted in the loss of the lives of innocent Afghans, including through targeted killings. Civilians are forced to flee, looting and burning, important infrastructure is destroyed and communication networks are destroyed, the statement said.
The Norwegian embassy is not involved
In an e-mail to NTB, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mari Bangstad says that the Norwegian embassy is not part of the joint statement.
– In light of our active peace commitment in Afghanistan, Norway does not always agree to joint statements of this type. We agree that it is urgent to reach a negotiated solution and a lasting state of arms. Norway has raised this with the parties directly as well as our concern about the escalation of the conflict, including the Taliban’s increased offensives after the international military withdrawal, she writes.
She also writes that Norway has repeatedly expressed concern about the high level of violence in the country.
– We have called on the parties to stop the acts of violence and condemned violence that affects civilians, Bangstad writes.
Taliban on the offensive
The last round of negotiations in Doha, between envoys from the Taliban and the Afghan government, ended this weekend without result.
The Taliban has been advancing province after province in Afghanistan since the United States and NATO began their withdrawal earlier this year.
The rebels now claim to control 85 percent of the country, and the government in Kabul is left with little more than a rally of provincial capitals that largely have to get supplies and reinforcements by air.
The Taliban has also taken control of border crossings with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Pakistan.
Last week, the Taliban offered a three-month ceasefire against the Afghan government’s release of around 7,000 detainees held captive, and against their leaders being removed from the UN blacklist.
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