Taliban calls for boycott of presidential elections in Afghanistan and threatens to carry out attacks

The Taliban on Tuesday called in a statement to the Afghan people to “boycott” the presidential elections in late September and to avoid gatherings “which may become potential targets”.

In a statement released by its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, the movement demanded that its fighters face “deception of this farce with all their abilities”.

“In order to avoid the loss of our citizens, God forbid, they have to avoid gatherings that could become potential targets”, the Afghan presidency said.

The Afghan presidency said in a statement that security forces were “fully prepared” to protect Afghans from Taliban threats and would not allow anyone to disrupt the electoral process.

“Participation in elections and the selection of an official by direct ballot are the religious and legal rights of the Afghan people.

The government has made all the necessary preparations to organize free, fair and transparent elections”.

The Taliban announcement comes at a time when the United States and its representatives are holding an eighth round of negotiations in Doha.

US special envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalil, praised on Monday evening “excellent progress” between the parties.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shahin said in an interview with AFP on Tuesday that “excellent progress” was also made.

“We’re discussing the last remaining points and a peace agreement will be concluded.

We’ll decide later on when the agreement will be announced”.

The campaign for the presidential election officially began on 28 July.

On the same day, 20 people were killed and 50 wounded in an attack on the office of Amirullah Saleh, one of the vice presidential candidates on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s list.

Saleh, who was head of Afghan intelligence and known for his anti-Taliban positions, survived the attack.

Seventeen candidates are contesting the elections, including the outgoing president, who is the front-runner.

The elections, which were initially scheduled for late April, were postponed twice until 28 September.

But elections are still uncertain, while peace talks in Norway between Taliban insurgents and representatives of the Kabul government are expected to start later if an agreement is signed between the United States and the Taliban in Doha.

“While the Taliban claim they are seeking peace, they are threatening to commit war crimes by attacking civilians during election rallies”, said Zaman Sultani, a researcher at Amnesty International for South Asia.

“In this way, the rebels show utter contempt for human life”, he said in a statement.

The Taliban, which carried out bloody attacks during the October 2018 legislative elections, consider the electoral process to have “no value”.

Ghani’s presidential election was seriously marred by fraud.

The United States then intervened to form a unity government with his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who was appointed prime minister.

Many Afghans say they have no intention of voting amid the risk of attacks and suspected fraud.