Members of the Helmand Peace Convoy on Sunday called on the Afghan government and the Taliban leadership to honor the demands of the Afghan people and reach a ceasefire agreement to end the ongoing bloodshed in the country.
They said the resolve by all parties to continue the war in the country is a shame.
This comes a day after President Ashraf Ghani announced the end of the ceasefire and ordered Afghanistan’s armed services to resume operations across the country.
“The nation has shown they are ready for peace, this is the greatest achievement. The ceasefire was a controlled experiment. The government is ready whenever the Taliban wants a ceasefire. The ceasefire was 98 percent successful,” Ghani said.
He also stated that many Taliban members are tired of the war and want peace and that in turn the nation showed that it is ready for reconciliation.
Ghani announced a ceasefire on June 12 – that was carried out over Eid-ul-Fitr. The Taliban also called a ceasefire over Eid, but only for three days. Over Eid, Ghani extended government’s ceasefire – but this ended on Friday. However the Taliban failed to respond and immediately after Eid resumed attacks across the country.
“War must become a shame in Afghanistan so that the two sides realize war is a shame and they must stop waging war,” said activist leader Iqbal Khyber.
Helmand Peace Convoy members, who are carrying out a sit-in protest outside the US embassy in Kabul, said on Saturday they will not move from the embassy until contact has been made with embassy officials and US Congress members.
The peace activists initially said they would spend three days outside different missions and embassies in Kabul in a bid to be heard.
Abdul Malik Hamdard, one of the Helmand activists, has been rallying for peace despite the difficulties he faces in life.
“I lost two of my brothers in the past four years to the war; both of them were killed in Greshk district of Helmand,” said Hamdard.
“I feel proud to rally for peace despite the fact I am not feeling well,” said another activist Aminullah Wardak.
Reiterating his call to the Taliban to join the peace process, Ghani last week said logical demands of the group will be accepted if they come to the talks tables with government.
Ghani’s ceasefire order came after a religious scholars meeting in Kabul where they issued a fatwa against the ongoing war in the country.
Days after government’s announcement, Taliban issued a statement that the group had ordered its fighters not to clash with Afghan security forces for the first three days of Eid. However, the group resumed their attacks after the three-day truce.
Reports say dozens of government forces have their lives following the end of the Taliban’s three-day ceasefire on June 17.