WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2019) The United States has criticized the Taliban's announcement of a new spring offensive as irresponsible and a move that will lead to more suffering and thousands of causalities, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said in a statement on Friday.
"The Taliban's spring offensive announcement is reckless," Khalilzad said via Twitter. "It is irresponsible to suggest that an increase in violence is warranted because the government announced a security plan. The Afghan people have clearly voiced their desire for peace."
Khalilzad pointed out that the Taliban's announcement demonstrates its leaders' indifference to the demands of the people across Afghanistan.
"The call for more fighting will not advance peace efforts. If executed, it will only yield more suffering and thousands more causalities," Khalilzad said.
Earlier on Friday, the Taliban announced in a statement that it will undertake a spring offensive despite being part of the ongoing US-led peace talks for Afghanistan.
The goal of Taliban's Operation Fath - "victory" in Arabic - is to cleanse Afghanistan from invasion and corruption, the Taliban said.
Afghanistan has long been gripped by war and political instability, but the two main rivals, the Afghan government and the Taliban, have been making efforts toward achieving peace by holding indirect talks.
