US, Taliban do not want peace

According to the U.S. deputy secretary, John Sullivan, Taliban attack on civilians show that Taliban do not want peace, but war. “Unfortunately, at this stage, everyone but the Taliban appears ready for peace. The Taliban’s reprehensible attacks targeting innocent civilians demonstrate that they are not ready to enter into good faith peace negotiations”, Sullivan said. The U.S. deputy secretary Sullivan who has visited Kabul noted that pressures are ongoing for bringing the Taliban group to the negotiation table and emphasized on an Afghan led-peace process. “Our policy is for continue to – for us to continue to put pressure on the Taliban – military, economic, political – to bring them to the negotiating table where the ultimate resolution will be through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process,” he said. Sullivan said that U.S. seriously asked  Pakistan to end violence, take practical measures and cooperate with the Afghan government. “We have made clear to the Pakistani Government our expectations for them to take action against terrorists that are in sanctuaries in Pakistan to reduce the pressure and the threat of violence in Afghanistan, and to contribute to a lasting and enduring peace in Afghanistan and the region”, he added. Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the group was “killing innocent people left and right so we don’t want to talk with the Taliban. There may be a time but it may be a long time”. The Taliban warned that Trump’s rhetoric would most certainly result in more war and bloodshed.