"VAN" (Afghanistan Bureau) :: The U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has said the Taliban group played an important role in the fight against ISIS in Afghanistan.
Responding to a question during a special media briefing, Khalilzad said “We believe that ISIS and the Taliban are mortal enemies, and in the war against ISIS, Taliban have played an important role.”
“Of course, the government has as well, and we have played a vital role in that fight,” Khalilzad said, insisting that that fight is not finished.
Khalilzad further added “We believe that our assessment currently is that the attacks that took place against the hospital and the attack in Nangarhar on a funeral procession was the work of ISIS, which, as I said before, is the enemy of the peace process.”
“And that’s why we urge Taliban and government not to play the ISIS game, but to cooperate against it,” he said, adding that “And the appropriate response is to accelerate the peace process, not to delay it because of what ISIS has done.”
This comes as the Afghan government ordered the Afghan forces to resume offensive operations against the militants, blaming the Taliban and ISIS groups for targeting the civilians, women and infants.
Dozens of people including many security personnel, women and newborn children were killed after the militants carried out a series of attacks in Kabul, Nangarhar and Laghman provinces during the course of the week.
KP
Responses
Leave your comment