KABUL - Speaking at the maiden meeting of the Kabul Process, the president told participants: “You are in a city whose people are mourning hundreds of their sons lost to terrorist violence.”
However, the president explained the Afghans were appreciative of the global fraternity’s support and demanded justice. These terrorist attacks were in fact a strong slap in the face of justice, Ghani commented.
Militants believe that war is a fundamental part of religion, but Islam is a religion of peace and those killed by the fighters are Muslims, Ghani said. He regretted the rebels were killing thousands of Muslim men, women and children and were involved in drug smuggling, terror and robberies.
The president blamed the terrorists for using Islam as a tool to achieve their nefarious designs. “Six days back, our 13 brave police members lost their lives when prevented a vehicle full of explosives from entering the diplomatic quarter in Kabul,” Ghani said.
The bomb that ripped the heart of Kabul clearly violated the Geneva Convention, he claimed, saying no diplomat had been killed but more 150 Afghans lost their lives and 350 others were wounded.
“Afghanistan is a target of international terrorism due to its location and impassable routes. Recent estimates show the number of foreign fighters surged from 200 to 11,000 in Afghanistan in the past two years,” the presided revealed.
Ghani said the international community was still unable to overcome all dimensions of terrorism. The UN had witness the growth of the menace, but the global response to the challenge had been slow and inadequate, he remarked.
He noted the level of cooperation had improved, but frameworks, tools and necessary measures for the identification and eradication of terrorist activities needed to be put in place.
The participants of the conference remained silent for a minute to pay respects to the victims of recent attacks in Kabul, London and other parts of the world. (Pajhwok)