Top officials of the Afghan government have welcomed EU’s Special Envoy, Roland Kobia’s tweet calling on the Taliban for “full ceasefire” to fight against the outbreak of coronavirus in Afghanistan.
“Everyone has the right to be helped against coronavirus. To be better helped, first measures should be: full ceasefire, stop taxing humanitarian aid, ensure full access and safety, coordinate and cooperate with Government,” said Roland Kobia in response to a Taliban’s statement about the group’s readiness to cooperate for combating the pandemic.
Welcoming Mr.Kobia’s tweet, President Ghani’s spokesperson, Sediq Sediqi, and a senior advisor to the President, Waheed Omar, stressed on the humanitarian grounds for holding a ceasefire to fight the covid19. “Taliban should know that we are dealing with a humanitarian situation caused by the Corona virus. They need to stop their attacks and allow health workers to reach to vulnerable people in all parts of Afghanistan,” Mr. Omar further noted in his tweet posted today, March 18.
According to the president advisor, some reports indicate that the Taliban are causing problems to health services in some areas of Afghanistan, adding that “it should be stopped immediately.”
Holding a nationwide ceasefire is one of Afghan government’s main demand for more progress in the peace talks with the Taliban. But the Taliban have repeatedly hesitated to make it happen stressing on deciding upon it during intra-Afghan talks.
