Abdullah calls for urgent meeting of UNSC over critical situation in Afghanistan

Kabul: Afghanistan’s top peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah has said the situation in his war-ravaged country is critical and called for an urgent session of the UN Security Council as the Taliban captured Kandahar and were advancing towards Kabul.

“The situation in Afghanistan is critical and the achievements of the last two decades are under threat,” Abdullah said during the meeting attended by the Troika Plus representatives from the UN, EU, US, Britain, Russia, China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Qatar in Doha on Thursday..

Abdullah, who is head of the Supreme National Reconciliation Council, stressed that thousands of Afghans have been killed and injured, while thousands of families have been displaced following the Taliban attacks on cities.

He said now is the time for the UN Security Council to discuss the issue of Afghanistan and take an urgent and decisive decision on addressing the country’s crisis.

He called on the international community, especially the Troika meeting member states, to adopt serious measures to prevent Taliban attacks on cities, which have led to war crimes, widespread human rights abuses and humanitarian catastrophe.

He also stressed on the need to start meaningful and sincere negotiations to establish an immediate ceasefire and reach a political agreement, according to a statement by the Afghan foreign ministry.

The Afghan foreign ministry said it “reiterates that the continuation of the Taliban’s bloody attacks in collusion with regional and international terrorists will not only lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and the protraction of war in Afghanistan, but also exacerbate violent extremism and incite terrorists in the region posing a serious and irreparable threat to the collective security of the region and the world”.

The statement added that by “stopping the Taliban violence and crimes in direct collusion with regional and international terrorists will be not only in the interest of Afghanistan but in the interest of the whole world, especially the countries of the region”.

Afghan Foreign Minister Haneef Atmar also spoke on Thursday and said the current levels of violence have had a “devastating impact on our country. It has literally disrupted and eroded security, rule of law and public service delivery in over half of our country.

“The loss of critical terrain and also cross-border trade points have had a significant impact on the humanitarian situation, and then trade and market functioning in the country, we’ve lost already since mid-April over 6,000 people,” he said, Ariana news reported.

Atmar also stated that at least 4,000 “of our brave national security forces and over 2,000 from the civilians,” have been killed.

He said if one tallies the wounded in this time, it amounts to over 15,000.

Atmar said that “over the past couple of months, this is the highest figure we have ever experienced. Over the past two decades the humanitarian crisis is overwhelming with over 18 million of our people now facing hunger and in need of immediate humanitarian assistance because of the devastating impact of the recent wave of terror and violence, the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the drought have been exacerbated by the way of the recent wave of violence”.

Meanwhile, the advancing Taliban late on Thursday claimed to have overrun one of Afghanistan’s megacities, Herat, next to Iran– exactly a week since launching the first assaults on this historic city.

Later the same day, Afghan authorities announced that the Taliban captured the governor’s office and police headquarters of Herat city.

The group’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahed posted visuals on Twitter of the armed militants capturing the governor’s office and nearby key government buildings, including security headquarters and the prison.

UNI