UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges immediate ceasefire in Afghanistan

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, vember 24 urged for an 'immediate, unconditional ceasefire' in Afghanistan to build a conducive environment for Doha peace talks with Taliban. His appeal came at time when Afghanistan is beset by violence between Taliban and government forces along with rampant corruption and an immediate withdrawal of US forces.

According to Al Jazeera reports, Guterres while dressing virtual global dor conference in Geneva said an inclusive process, in which women, young people and victims of conflict are meaningfully represented, offers best hope of sustainable peace.

He furr ded that progress toward peace will contribute to development of entire region, and is an important step towards safe, orderly and dignified return of millions of displaced Afghans. Meanwhile, Afghan government and Taliban have been engd in peace talks in Qatar since September 12; however, progress has been anunced so far.

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Ghani urges continued support 

Earlier in day, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani also urged international community to continue supporting Afghanistan as re are possibilities that dor nations may cut aid to country under COVID-19 strain. Ghani from Kabul said COVID-19 pandemic has thrown us all into a state of global uncertainty. He furr expressed his gratitude to dors for ir strong commitment to Afghanistan. 

Every four years, dor nations meet to pledge aid to Afghanistan, which is almost entirely reliant on foreign assistance despite years of promised reforms and attempts to grow ecomy. However, 2020 dor conference could see less aid pledged as countries battle to recover from devastating effect of COVID-19. previous 2016 conference in Brussels raised $15.2 billion.

According to report, concerns are high that gains me in past 20 years, especially in area of women’s rights, could be lost as Taliban unleashes furr violence. To this, Ghani clarified that his ministration's commitment to negotiations with Taliban remains firm. He furr ackwledged that violence h skyrocketed since a US-Taliban deal in February paved way for withdrawal of foreign forces by May 2021.

Ghani furr went on to say that plans to achieve peace did t materialise as expected. Suffering and killing continue to plague Afghans on a daily basis. It is unbearable, he ded.

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