ISLAMABAD: United States Special Representative for Afghan peace, Zalmay Khalilzad, said on Friday participants of a recent meeting in Doha had demanded that the Taliban immediately halt their military offensive against Afghan cities, as the US and Britain said they would send thousands of troops to help evacuate their embassy staff from war-ravaged Afghanistan.
Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghan peace, has been in Doha since Wednesday to participate in the Regional Conference on Afghanistan and a two-day meeting of the Troika Plus mechanism.
The Troika is a platform to discuss Afghanistan led by the United States, China, Russia. Its meetings come three weeks before the August 31 date that Washington set for the official withdrawal of its military forces in Afghanistan.
“After two days of intense consultations & discussions with the Afghan negotiating teams, Qatar, as chair, issued a Chairman’s Statement on behalf of regional and international stakeholders,” Khalilzad said on Twitter. “We demand an immediate end to attacks against cities, urge a political settlement, and warn that a government imposed by force will be a pariah state.”
1/2 After two days of intense consultations & discussions with the Afghan negotiating teams, Qatar, as chair, issued a Chairman's Statement on behalf of regional and international stakeholders. pic.twitter.com/qfMRTjRg4d
— U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) August 13, 2021
At the invitation of Qatar, special envoys and representatives from China, Uzbekistan, United States, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Qatar, United Nations, and the European Union met in Doha on August 10, as did representatives of Germany, India, Norway, the State of Qatar, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan on August 12, to assess the status of intra-Afghan negotiations, exchange views with the two negotiating teams (Taliban and the Kabul government) on the current challenges and opportunities, and reflect on the contributions the international community can make to the success of the Afghan peace process.
“Participants agreed that the peace process needs to be accelerated as a matter of great urgency on the basis of the negotiations of concrete proposals from both sides,” a statement released by Doha on Friday said. “Participants urged both sides to take steps to build trust and accelerate efforts to reach a political settlement and comprehensive cease-fire as quickly as possible.”
“Participants reaffirmed that they will not recognize any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force,” the statement added.
Participating countries also raised grave concerns about reports from across Afghanistan about continued violence, large numbers of civilian casualties and extrajudicial killings, widespread and credible allegations of human rights violations, all attacks (ground and air) against provincial capitals and cities, and the destruction of physical infrastructure.
Participants also took note of converging statements of both sides on the following guiding principles for a political settlement: (a) inclusive governance; (b) respect for human rights, including the rights of women and minorities; (c) a mechanism to deliver a representative government, (d) a commitment not allow any individuals or groups to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of other countries; and, (e) respect for international law, including international humanitarian law.
