On eve of peace talks, Ghani urges Taliban to stop planting roadside mines

President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday condemned the roadside mine incident in Kandahar earlier in the day and called on the Taliban to stop the violence and end their practice of planting IEDs. 

In a series of tweets, Ghani condemned the incident and stated that this comes as the Taliban are “on the eve of peace and direct negotiations with the Afghan negotiating team. 

“The Taliban should avoid violence specifically roadside mines which are the main cause of civilian casualties, and in order to reach a dignified and lasting peace, they should accept people and Loya Jirga’s voice.”

The president said the incident, which happened early Thursday in the Zalkhan area of Panjwai district of Kandahar province, resulted in a number of women, a child, and other Afghans being killed and wounded “as a result of a mine planted by the Taliban”.

Ghani expressed his deep condolences and sympathy to the families of those killed and wished the wounded a speedy recovery. 

The incident happened when a vehicle, carrying a number of civilian passengers, hit a roadside IED. 

This comes after at least eight civilians were killed in another roadside mine explosion in the same province on Sunday.