Iran Press/ Asia: In a message to the group, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, the President of Afghanistan has called on the Taliban to respond positively to the demands of the United Nations, the countries of the region and the people of Afghanistan to stop the war.
The Taliban in Afghanistan signed a peace agreement with the United States on February 29 and stopped attacking American forces there; but there’s no peace agreement between the Taliban and the Afghan government, which means fighting between the two has continued unabated, even amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Suhail Shaheen, the spokesman for the Taliban's political bureau in Qatar, said that if the Afghan government wanted to fight the Coronavirus, it would first have to release the group's prisoners.
Suhail Shaheen claimed that the government had delayed the release of the Taliban prisoners and it is obstructing the dialogue between the Afghan interlocutors, which ceasefire is one of the subjects of discussion.
International observers have urged both the Afghan government and the Taliban to immediately stop fighting and start working with the United Nations and aid agencies to improve access to health care to save as many lives as possible; however, it seems both parties are unwilling to cooperate and meanwhile, the coronavirus continues to spread.
The Taliban have demanded the release of all its 5000 prisoners as a prerequisite for the start of an intra-Afghan dialogue, while the Afghan government has repeatedly opposed the release of all prisoners, citing repeated violations of the group's commitment to end violence and conflict. Thus, on Apr 13 the Afghan government released the third batch of Taliban prisoners consisting of 100 inmates as part of ongoing efforts to kick start the intra-Afghan talks aimed at ending the conflict.
As of April 16, Afghanistan has reported 840 COVID-19 cases and 30 deaths, but observers and medics on the ground believe the real number of infections could be much higher. A majority of the infected people are from Herat province, which shares a border with Iran.
There is a shortage of Coronavirus tests and ventilators in the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided Afghanistan 1,500 testing kits, yet only two laboratories in the country are equipped with machines that can process test samples. 212/ 104
Read More:
Afghan government releases the third group of Taliban prisoners
Afghanistan appreciates Iran's humanitarian efforts amid Coronavirus
