Election posters of parliamentarian candidates are installed during the elections campaign in Kabul, Afghanistan September 30, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani
OCTOBER 8th, 2018
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily
Afghans directed to boycott election polls by Taliban, negotiations vetoed
On Monday, the Taliban had urged the citizens of Afghanistan to avoid voting in the imminent elections, to essentially boycott them. This was done in order to pressure the country into diminishing the foreign forces, still present, hoping to put a stop to the long-lasting war. The Taliban have, as well, increased their rate and tactics of attacks.
Top US envoy; Zalmay Khalilzad, who had been selected to lead the long-lasting peace efforts with the Taliban, had made similar statements before the Taliban had made their decisions, overlapping with his views on the subject matter. There are many opposing arguments about the foreign forces within the country, some insisting that it’s their presence that’s required to bring peace, others believing that peace will come once they leave.
Having been born in Afghanistan himself, Khalilzad joined up into the US State Department earlier in September, originally a US ambassador to both Afghanistan and Iraq. He seeks to bring about negotiations with the Taliban, by means of travelling to several locations this week, including Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Khalilzad was quoted by President Ashraf Ghani’s office, during a discussion held in Kabul to debate methods in which to hold some sorts of Afghan-led peace talks with the Taliban; “Peace is a holy process, and the U.S. government and people are united with the Afghan government and people in this process.”
The Taliban have on frequent occasions refused to hold negotiation meetings, seeking only the restoration of assertive Islamic laws, often known to be both sexist and homophobic, by toppling their government, and ridding the country of foreign forces. As such, they have a great desire for the boycott to be a success.
The Taliban’s primary spokesman; Zabihullah Mujahid, expressed his beliefs that the parliamentary election polls, to be held on the 20th of October, are a method used by the US to assert their authority and military presence within the country, and have made attempts to boycott them by spreading fear of military violence, making unsupported allegations of fraud, and many other acts of arguable propaganda.
Mujahid stated that “People are given a deceptive feeling of having free right casting their votes for the malicious purpose of minimizing their resentment against the foreign occupation,” ironically as the Taliban have increased their violent onslaughts all over the country, with reportedly 120 Taliban fighters having been killed by Afghan forces over the course of 20 operations, and 30 wounded in Kandahar, Ghazni, Farah and Faryab, according to a statement made by the ministry of defence.
“The real solution of the ongoing Afghan crisis lies in the complete withdrawal of all foreign occupying forces and the restoration of a pure Islamic sovereignty,” Mujahid added, with large doubt that negotiations will be held any time soon.
By Patryk Krych | The World Daily
©2018 THE WORLD DAILY
