ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Taliban on Saturday ruled out cessation of fighting in Ramazan, saying they would instead step up attacks, as the reward is “highest” in the holy Muslim month.
On the first day of Ramazan, a suicide bomber killed and injured scores of people in Khost, bordering Pakistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility. Afghanistan’s Tolo TV reported that a suicide car bomber targeted vehicles belonging to members of the local police force campaign in Khost. But officials were quoted as saying that the attack caused mostly civilian casualties. Calls have been made for a halt to fighting as Ramazan begins; however, the Taliban rejected any truce.
“Our fighting is jihad and an obligation. Every obligatory act has 70 times more reward in Ramazan,” a Taliban spokesman said. “Those who advise us to stop jihad in this sacred month are unaware of the religion,” the spokesman claimed in a statement, issued hours after the deadly attack in Khost.
President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah condemned the Taliban attack and said that terrorist groups show no “respect for religious values and sacred days”. “Terrorists have once again committed war crime[s] and unforgivable act[s] and have proved they are merciless,” President Ghani said in a statement. The Taliban have stepped up attacks since they have launched their annual “spring offensive”. Nearly 60 soldiers were killed in a series of attacks in Kandahar, the Taliban birthplace, this week. In April, a group of Taliban bombers attacked a major military centre in the relatively peaceful northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, killing around 150 security personnel. The UN mission in Afghanistan, Afghan leaders and the High Peace Council routinely launch Ramazan truce appeals to the Taliban to respect the holy month.
Meanwhile, the first round of China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Practical Cooperation Dialogue was held in Beijing on Saturday, the Foreign Ministry said in Islamabad. The three sides exchanged in-depth views on trilateral cooperation in a friendly atmosphere and agreed to promote practical measures for cooperation, a statement said.
The three sides noted that trilateral cooperation among Pakistan, Afghanistan and China was conducive to peace, stability and development of Afghanistan and the region. The three countries appreciated the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and its benefits for promoting regional connectivity. They agreed to advance practical cooperation in various areas so as to promote mutual benefit and regional economic integration under the framework of the Belt and Road initiative. The three sides agreed to organise workshops, seminars and different forums. China and Pakistan will explore trilateral cooperation in areas of infrastructure, energy, education, health, agriculture, human resource training and capacity building, based on the needs of Afghanistan and according to China’s and Pakistan’s respective assistance programmes for Afghanistan. The three sides highly appreciated the outcome of discussions and agreed to make the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Practical Cooperation Dialogue a regular forum. The dialogue was co-chaired by Director General Mansoor Ahmad Khan of Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director General Xiao Qian from Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director General Khalid Payenda of Afghan Ministry of Finance.
