US vows to isolate Taliban if they take power by force
The US envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, traveled to Qatar to tell the insurgent group that there was no point in pursuing victory on the battlefield as a military takeover of Kabul would guarantee they will become global pariahs.
A US peace envoy has warned the Taliban that any government that comes to power through force in Afghanistan won't be recognised internationally.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US envoy, traveled to Doha, Qatar on Tuesday, where the Taliban maintain a political office, to tell the group that there was no point in pursuing victory on the battlefield because a military takeover of the capital of Kabul would guarantee they will be global pariahs.
He and others hope to persuade Taliban leaders to return to peace talks with the Afghan government as American and NATO forces finish their pullout from the country.
READ MORE: Taliban captures another capital city as fighting with govt forces rage on
Khalilzad's mission in Qatar is to "help formulate a joint international response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan," according to the US State Department.
He plans to "press the Taliban to stop their military offensive and to negotiate a political settlement, which is the only path to stability and development in Afghanistan," the State Department said.
The insurgents have captured five out of 34 provincial capitals in the country in less than a week.
They are now battling the Western-backed government for control of several others, including Lashkar Gah in Helmand, and Kandahar and Farah in provinces of the same names.
The new pressure from Khalilzad follows condemnations from the international community and a similar warning from the United Nations that a Taliban government that takes power by force would not be recognized.
READ MORE: Why is the Taliban looking unstoppable in Afghanistan?
The insurgents have so far refused to return to the negotiating table.
Meanwhile, the Taliban military chief released an audio message to his fighters on Tuesday, ordering them not to harm Afghan forces and government officials in territories they conquer.
The recording was shared on Twitter by the Taliban spokesman in Doha, Mohammad Naim.
Some civilians who have fled Taliban advances have said that the insurgents imposed repressive restrictions on women and burned down schools.
The office of the UN human rights chief said it has received reports of summary executions and military use and destruction of homes, schools and clinics in captured areas.
The insurgents have claimed responsibility for killing a comedian in southern Kandahar, assassinating the government's media chief Kabul and a bombing that targeted acting Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, killing eight and wounding more.
The minister was not harmed in the attack.
Civilians bear the brunt
The UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said Tuesday that her office had counted at least 183 deaths and hundreds of injuries among civilians in a handful of cities in recent weeks but cautioned that "the real figures will be much higher".
The surge in Taliban attacks began in April, when the US and NATO announced they would end their military presence and bring the last of their troops home.
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The final date of the withdrawal is August 31, but the US Central Command has said the pullout is already 95 percent complete.
Khalilzad, the architect of the peace deal the Trump administration brokered with the Taliban, was expected to hold talks with key regional players, as well as unspecified multilateral organizations to see how to restart talks and halt the Taliban onslaught.