Guterres Calls on Afghanistan and Pakistan to Immediately Cease Hostilities

The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Dujarric, said on the 27th that Guterres is deeply concerned about the escalation of violent clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan and their impact on civilians. He urged both sides to immediately stop hostilities and resolve their differences through diplomatic channels. Regarding the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan, Dujarric said that years of conflict, poverty, and natural disasters have left nearly half of the country’s population in need of humanitarian assistance. If the conflict continues or escalates, this figure will only keep increasing. The United Nations urged all parties to the conflict to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular to ensure that civilians and civilian infrastructure are always protected, while also calling on the international community to provide more funding for the UN’s humanitarian operations in Afghanistan. Over the past week, fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan has flared up again, ranging from sporadic exchanges of fire in border areas to Pakistani airstrikes on military targets in Kabul, the Afghan capital, with the conflict continuing to escalate. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif announced on the 27th that Pakistan has launched an “open war” against Afghanistan. (Xinhua News Agency)