A group of People’s Peace Movement activists will be assigned to travel to Taliban-controlled areas and hold talks with the group, leaders of the movement said Saturday. 

The remarks came as peace activists continued their sit-in protest outside the Russian embassy in Kabul. 

Members of the movement said the Afghan government has accepted their demands and that they will now take their peace demand to the Taliban. 

“We have formed a committee comprised of elders and religious scholars. The assignment of the committee is to travel to Taliban-controlled areas and talk to them,” the head of the movement Mohammad Iqbal Khyber told TOLOnews on Saturday. 

Among the activists was Mohammad Azim, 85, who tore his collar during an interview with a TOLOnews reporter. This was to demonstrate how tired they are of war and how important it is that peace is established in Afghanistan.

One of his three sons is a Taliban fighter, he said. 

“Those who do not accept peace and reconciliation are infidels. I don’t fear anyone. I fear from Almighty Allah who has created the earth and the sky,” Azim said.

The People’s Peace Movement, previously known as Helmand Peace Convoy, are waiting for warring parties to respond to their demands lodged 20 days ago. 

The group has sent letters to the UN secretary general’s office and to the American people. This letter was sent while they staged a sit-in protest outside the US embassy in Kabul this week. 

“Peace is a key goal for us. We will definitely achieve this goal,” said Aminullah Wardak, a member of People’s Peace Movement.

Their next destination for a sit-in protest is the Pakistani embassy, Khyber said.

The Movement Started In Helmand 

The peace activists initially launched their protest in Lashkargah City after a suicide bombing outside a stadium in March. About a month later, a group of eight protestors left Helmand on foot for Kabul.

The activists walked through towns and villages, crossed provinces and met with local residents along the way. For 38 days they walked and as they progressed, so their numbers grew.

About 700kms later, the group of eight had grown to an estimated 100. They arrived in Kabul on June 18 and handed over demands for a ceasefire and peace to both the Afghan government and the Taliban.

The group gave the Taliban three days in which to answer and said if they failed to do so, they would embark on sit in protests outside diplomatic offices and missions in the capital.

The Taliban’s deadline passed without any response. The activists then held a three-day sit-in protest outside UNAMA’s office in Kabul. They sent a letter to the UN Secretary General António Guterres in which they asked him not to remain indifferent towards ending the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

From there, they moved on to the US embassy – where they stayed for nine days. The activists sent a letter to the American people, asking them to put pressure on the US government to end the war in Afghanistan.

The activists, whose ages range from 17 to 65, come from all walks of life and include students, athletes and farmers among others.

Their sit-in protest outside Russia Embassy in Kabul started on Friday.