Khalilzad wants all Afghan sides to put the interest of the country ahead of their own

The US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, in a series of tweets, called on all Afghan leaders, Taliban included, to put the interest of the country ahead of everything else.

Khalilzad said that the well-being of the Afghan people and the country itself depended on all parties devoting their full energies to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the shared enemy of all.

He asked the Afghan leaders, President Ghani and Abdullah, to use the month of Ramadan as the opportunity to put the interest of the country ahead of their own.

“Ramadan offers the Taliban an opportunity to embrace a humanitarian ceasefire to reduce violence and suspend offensive military operations until the health crisis is over,” he called on the Taliban.

He also said that the Afghan government and the Taliban must accelerate the release of prisoners.

“The war on COVID-19 makes it urgent and will also aid the peace process including getting intra-Afghan negotiations underway,” he added, pointing out to the prisoner releases. Also, Khalilzad welcomed the appeal of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for a reduction of violence and path to a durable ceasefire in Afghanistan given the threat of COVID-19, and the OIC’s longstanding support for the peace process and call for all sides to move to intra-Afghan negotiations.