Kabul peace moot begins as truck blast toll reaches 150

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - An international peace conference began in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday with a minute-long silence in remembrance of terror victims as the death toll in last week’s truck bombing rose sharply to 150.

Representatives from 25 countries and alliances, including the U.S., Russia, China, India, Pakistan, NATO and EU are at the Kabul Initiative Peace and Security Cooperation conference that aims to find an “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” resolution of the decades-long conflict that has left tens of thousands of people dead.

However, one of the main stakeholders in the war -- the Afghan Taliban -- is not present at the conference that hopes to achieve a lasting peace process with the armed group.

The day-long conference comes after a spate of bombings and violence in the capital that saw a massive suicide truck bombing on Wednesday near the German and Turkish embassies, followed by violent clashes between authorities and protesters a day later on Thursday, and multiple suicide attacks over the weekend at a cemetery that left several more people dead.

In his welcome address, President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani confirmed that the death toll in the truck bombing had risen sharply, from 90 to 150; over 300 others remain injured.

Ghani also said up to 75,000 Afghans lost their lives during the last two years in the ongoing violence in the country.

However, the president was careful in his choice of words and did not directly blame Pakistan for the recent attacks despite the fact that Afghan intelligence agencies blamed the Taliban’s Haqqani network -- that is allegedly backed by Pakistan military’s spy agency ISI -- for the recent attacks.

Instead Ghani said: “Taliban-sponsored terrorism is creating a platform that is bringing terrorists to Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

He also spoke of his desire to make peace with the Taliban. “We want to talk peace with the Taliban, but [this is] not open-ended opportunity,” he said.

He urged the international community to make good on its promise to end state sponsorship of terrorism. “The Kabul process aims to build an inclusive peace in Afghanistan, with the support of neighboring countries and the international community,” he said.

“Muslims are the innocent victims of what rebels claim to be a religious war,” he added.

The president also said that up to 11,000 foreign militants had allegedly arrived in Afghanistan in the last two years to fight for Daesh.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Cornelius Zimmerman, NATO’s senior civilian representative in Afghanistan, expressed his full support for the peace process.

“I am pleased to see the will and determination of the Afghan government to hold the Kabul Initiative for Peace and Security Cooperation conference at a time when a dark week in the history of Afghanistan has just passed.

“This demonstrated the unwavering resolve of the government for fight against terrorism and for ensuring peace for all Afghans,” Zimmerman said in a statement.