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| Afghanistan |
| Nangarhar Residents Demand Action Over Peace |
| 2015-12-31 |
| A number of Nangarhar residents and civil society activists held a rally in Jalalabad city on Wednesday and urged government to speed up the peace negotiation process. The demonstrators raised concerns over the increase of insecurity in the province and said government must step up its efforts to bring about peace. They also urged the National Unity Government (NUG) to revise its security strategy for the province. "We want security in the province. War is not the solution. Taliban must follow peace negotiations," said Abdul Rahman a civil society activist. "War and killing civilians is not acceptable for the people. Government, Daesh and the Taliban must abide by the [international] law of war [that protects civilians]," said Noor Ahmad a resident. Meanwhile the demonstrators argued that the NUG must address the issue of insecurity in numerous districts of the province. "Until security has been restored in the province the people will continue to protest - this is a serious demand by residents," said Zabiullah Zmarai the provincial council head. "It has been months that civilians are affected as a result of Taliban and Daesh battles but no one cares about this issue. But silence on the insecurity is no longer acceptable for us," said Abdullah Shenwari a provincial council member. Afghanistan and Pakistan recently agreed to resume peace talks with the Taliban and a planning meeting is scheduled between Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States in early January where the framework of the peace talks with the Taliban is expected to be mapped out. Video report at the link |
| Posted by:badanov |