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KABUL, Afghanistan – While the Taliban ignore the latest offers of ceasefires and negotiations by the Afghan government, peace seems as elusive as it has been for decades in this country bruised by war.
The Taliban have gained ground in their annual spring offensive, ignoring President Ashraf Ghani's calls for negotiations. Hoping to end the war by nearly 17 years, he had offered unprecedented incentives, including pbadports for insurgents and their families.
Ghani had also proposed to abolish international sanctions against group leaders and to allow the Taliban to open their official seats. the capital, Kabul.
But for that, he said, a ceasefire must first be agreed and the Taliban must become a political group rather than an armed insurgency.
In June, the Taliban agreed to a three-day ceasefire about the Eid al-Fitr holiday that closes the Muslim fast month of Ramadan, a first for the group, but Rejected the Government's Subsequent Call for Extension
The United States would have partially endeavored to meet their demand: the withdrawal of all US forces from Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid recently reiterated the insurgents' stance that "the Americans are the only ones" continuing the war, supporting our enemies and bombarding our country. "
" So, s & # There are discussions, they should be with them (Americans), "Mujahid told The Associated Press on the phone," otherwise they will not have any results. "
From the beginning During the year, the Taliban stepped up their attacks.On 27 January, a suicide bomber drove an ambulance packed with explosives to a checkpoint in Kabul, killing more than 100 people and injuring them until he was killed. at 235.
The Taliban claimed this attack, as well as another, a week earlier, in militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners , and unleashed a 13-hour shootout with security forces.
At a r Eunion in Kabul, the Council of Afghan Ulema Scholars – have issued an edict against the suicide bombings, saying that they are "haram", banned by Islamic law.
As the meeting ended and the religious were about to dissolve, another suicide bomber struck near the site. 19659003] Although this attack was claimed by the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan, the Taliban issued a statement denouncing the conference and others as an "American process" and urged the religious to reject such gatherings.
have meanwhile extended their reach into the countryside. According to Mujahid, they now control 54 of the 388 districts across the country, with five districts seized in this year 's spring offensive.
At least seven of the 14 districts in Helmand province are under the control of the Taliban. Analysts say nearly 80 percent of Helmand – prized for its vast opium poppy fields – has been under Taliban control since 2004, although urban centers have remained under government control.
Najib Danish, spokesman for the Interior Ministry But even the own inspector general of Afghanistan's reconstruction, SIGAR, says that more than half of Afghanistan is under direct control of the Taliban or under their influence.
The United States and NATO have steadily reduced their strengths in recent years, reaching a peak of almost 150,000, and in 2014 they turned to a supportive and counter-productive role -terrorism. Afghan security forces, with 195,000 troops and more than 150,000 police, fought to fight the insurgency.
The pressure is taking off a kind of peace process
. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took advantage of an impromptu trip to Afghanistan on Monday to reinforce the Trump administration's calls for peace talks.
"The region and the world are all tired of what is happening here like the Afghan people Tuesday, the Saudi-based Islamic Cooperation Organization opened a two-day conference Tuesday to encourage peace talks Afghans
discussing Afghanistan on Thursday at their summit in Brussels during which the alliance should pledge to continue funding the Afghan army and its mission in Afghanistan.
But many Afghan troops are bitter in the face of dark prospects for peace.
"The president gave them a chance and announced a ceasefire, but even so, they attacked our checkpoints. , have ambushed our forces and nothing has changed, "says Mohammad Din, a 27-year-old policeman in North Kunduz province, who has been in uniform for the past seven years.
Abdul Agha, 33, lost his right arm and both eyes in the eastern province of Logar when his convoy hit a roadside bomb three years ago. The former police officer said that he could not see his two daughters, born after the attack.
"It took away my ability to see the brightness and beauty of life," said Agha.
Many businessmen and investors have Abdul Karim Arefi, Deputy Director of the Council of Industries and Investment of Afghanistan, said: "The people are discouraged, people are not confident enough to import goods and do business, "said Arefi
.
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