Afghan leader implores Pakistan to battle Taliban

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has called on Pakistan to fight the Taliban militants rather than attempt to bring them into peace talks.

President Ghani made the remarks on Monday during an address to both houses of the Afghan parliament a week after a militant assault in the heart of the capital Kabul killed at least 64 people and wounded another 340.

The bomb and gun attack, claimed by the Taliban, targeted the offices of Afghanistan's main security agency in a densely packed Kabul neighborhood during the last Tuesday morning rush hour.

"I want to make it clear that we no longer expect Pakistan to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table," Ghani said, adding, “But we expect them to launch a military operation against their sanctuaries and leadership based on their soil. If they can't target them they should hand them over to our judiciary."

The Afghan leader went on to say there are "no good or bad terrorists, they are just terrorists," and that "Pakistan must understand that and act against them."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ghani also vowed a tough military response against the insurgent group and pledged to enforce execution of convicted militants.

"The time for amnesty is over," the Afghan leader said, noting, "For the Taliban who are ready to end bloodshed, we have left the door open for talks. But the door will not be open forever."

Pakistan, which wields influence on the insurgent group, mediated the first round of direct peace talks between delegates from the Afghan government and the Taliban last summer, but a planned second meeting was canceled after news broke that Taliban’s founder and long-time leader Mullah Omar had died two years ago.

There have also been growing differences among Taliban elements over the negotiations, with some vowing to fight for power instead of taking part in the talks.

Senior officials in Kabul have long blamed Pakistan for turning a blind eye to the Taliban militant group whose leadership is widely believed to be based in the Pakistani cities of Quetta and Peshawar, near the border.

General Abdul Rahman Rahimi, Kabul's police chief, has said during a recent press conference that two teams have been appointed to investigate the latest militant assault.

Rahimi said, "The initial reports show that the attack was planned outside of the borders of our country" — a language that Afghan officials often use to blame neighboring Pakistan.

Afghanistan’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, also postponed an upcoming visit to neighboring Pakistan following the brazen assault, saying, "The government raised the call for peace, but unfortunately the answer by the enemy was fighting, violence, bloodshed, [and] killing innocent people."  

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been tense in recent years over the ongoing militancy. Senior Afghan officials blame elements inside the Pakistani spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), for supporting the Taliban militants, while Islamabad blames the Afghan government for giving shelter to the militants on its side of the border. 

Taliban rebuffs Ghani's remarks

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rebuffed Ghani, saying the group would press on with their battle against the US-backed government in Kabul. 

This comes as Taliban have stepped up attacks against foreign troops and Afghan security forces since announcing the start of their spring offensive last week. The Taliban said in a statement that the campaign begun at 5:00 a.m. local time (0030 GMT) on April 12.

The militants also dubbed the offensive “Operation Omari” in honor of Taliban founder and long-time leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Afghanistan is gripped by insecurity more than 14 years after the United States and its allies attacked the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk