Foreign diplomatic missions in Afghanistan call for Taliban ceasefire

Fifteen diplomatic missions and the Nato representative in Afghanistan urged the Taliban on Monday to halt their military offensives just hours after the rival Afghan sides failed to agree on a ceasefire at a peace meeting in Doha.
 

A delegation of Afghan leaders met the Taliban’s political leadership in the Qatari capital over the weekend but the Taliban, in a statement late on Sunday, made no mention of a halt to violence.
 

“This Eid al-Adha, the Taliban should lay down their weapons for good and show the world their commitment to the peace process,” the 15 missions and the Nato representative said. The statement was supported by Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the EU delegation, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Britain and the US and Nato’s senior civilian representative.