BRUSSELS - US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday urged Afghanistan's Taliban militants to follow the recent example of a notorious warlord and make an "honourable" peace with the Kabul government. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, who signed the pact with Hekmatyar, told the Brussels conference: "Afghans can make peace, we will make peace, we are committed to constructive politics, not destructive politics." But the Taliban themselves have resisted any peace deal and continue to push on with offensives, including against the Afghan city of Kunduz this week. Kerry added that a peace deal would in fact achieve the Taliban's aim of expelling foreign forces from Afghanistan, 15 years after a US-led invasion drove the Islamist group from power. The Brussels conference is aimed at securing funding for Afghanistan for the next four years until 2020.

Source: Bangkok Post October 05, 2016 09:45 UTC