Washington's peace envoy travels to Pakistan to boost regional support for reducing violence in Afghanistan ahead of a final deal to end America's longest war.
In this photo released by the Foreign Office, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, left, meets U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. Khalilzad has met with Pakistan's foreign minister to find a peaceful solution to neighboring Afghanistan's war.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry, following a series of meetings with Khalilzad on Friday, said it supported a quick peace deal with the Taliban and repeated Washington’s call for a reduction in violence. The U.S. military statistics said that its air force carried out a total of 2,434 sorties last year, in which at least one bomb or strike was carried out on Afghanistan.
The U.N. also points out that insurgent bombings and attacks wounded more civilians during the same period and almost daily the Taliban targeted military and government officials. The militants now control or hold sway over nearly half of Afghanistan. The U.N. has called for all sides in the protracted conflict to take better care to avoid civilian casualties.
“We are aware of the reports of civilian casualties reported to have occurred in Dasht-e-Archi district or Imam Sahib district, Kunduz Province, on Jan. 30,” a U.S. military statement said. “We are looking into these reports and will provide more information when it becomes available.”The family killed were relatives of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who was an anti-government insurgent before signing a peace agreement with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
In a tweet on Friday, former president Hamid Karzai condemned the airstrike saying: “the bombings of our homes and villages is an injustice against our people & a violation of our national sovereignty.”Earlier the Taliban said they offered Khalilzad a 10-day cease-fire window in which to sign a peace agreement that would be followed by intra-Afghan negotiations.
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