Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: It is in the interest of both India and Pakistan to see a stable, secure Afghanistan emerge from the years of fighting, the US State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said.
“And certainly, in the interest of regional security as well, there’s a lot of contentious issues, as you note, between India and Pakistan, but the two countries we would encourage to take a more conciliatory approach to each other and to work through some of these issues for the greater good of the region,” the spokesman said in regard to Afghanistan’s stability.
Toner put weight behind Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, and termed it the best way to bring about a stable and prosperous future for Afghanistan.
Regarding security situation he said, “Well, it has been a difficult fighting season, and certainly, we have seen a situation – a security situation in Helmand over the past week or so, which is a particular concern.”
He added that the Taliban remain a very resilient insurgency and to date, they have continued to challenge the Afghan government forces, and the latest attack in Helmand is just another example and another effort by the Taliban to create and sow instability and to – frankly, undermine the progress that the country has made over the past 15 years.
“Thus far, while the Afghan security forces have certainly been challenged, they have held the line and they have performed remarkably well,” he said.
