Abdullah says at talks with Taliban the people are the ‘main losers’

Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) Abdullah Abdullah, who is also heading the Afghan Republic’s team in talks with the Taliban in Doha, stated that if offensives continue the main losers would be the people of Afghanistan.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the government-Taliban meeting in Qatar on Saturday, Abdullah stated: “The people of Afghanistan are going through difficult days. Fierce conflicts are ongoing and our people are the real victims.”

“It does not matter if the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan uses force or the Taliban movement seeks victory through violence and war; the main losers of the current war are the people of Afghanistan,” he said.

Abdullah emphasized that there is no military solution for the Afghanistan issues.

He, meanwhile, called on the warring parties to show flexibility in order to reach a peace agreement in Afghanistan.

Abdullah stressed that all sides should seize the opportunity for reaching peace in Afghanistan, “otherwise we all will be responsible before Allah, people, history and the world [the international community].”

Abdullah also emphasized the need for preserving the hard-won achievements of the last two decades.

“It is a fact that the people of Afghanistan, with the help of the international community, have gained great achievements in recent years. Such as the right to vote to choose a national leadership and political right, women’s rights and freedom, minority rights, freedom of expression, war victims’ rights, and other developments,” Abdullah said.