The United Nations envoy to Afghanistan called on the Taliban not to attack the country’s presidential election due Saturday in a meeting in Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday.
“Free from fear, intimidation and threats of violence, voters must be given every opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to cast a ballot and elect political representatives in a peaceful manner,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN secretary-general’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA.
In Doha meeting, he called on the Taliban to desist from any activity that would interfere with the elections, particularly with regard to the safety of voters and all other civilians engaged in the election, according to a statement issued by UNAMA.
The call has apparently been rejected by the Taliban. On Thursday, the group called on its fighters to prevent the process throughout the country.
Yamamoto stressed that the election is a civilian undertaking. He highlighted that attacks directed against polling centres and civilians participating in the electoral process are clear violations of international law and may amount to war crimes.
Afghanistan’s presidential election is scheduled to be held on coming Saturday.
Electoral commissions have said that they are fully prepared to hold the vote.
