Afghanistan: Rockets landed Near the Afghan Presidential Palace, President was offering Eid Prayers

Kabul: During the time when President Ashraf Ghani was offering Eid prayers in Afghanistan, rockets came down near Rashtrapati Bhavan. Afghanistan’s Tolo News has released its video. It is clearly visible in this video that when President Ghani along with his aides had gathered to offer prayers in the Rashtrapati Bhavan complex, the rocket came down near Rashtrapati Bhavan at the same time. Loud banging sounds were heard in this video. However, during this time President Ghani continued to offer Namaz and no fear was visible on his face.

Interior ministry spokesman Mirwaiz Stanikzai said there were no casualties in the rocket attacks. The rockets fell outside the tight security Rashtrapati Bhavan. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack appears to have been intended to create more tension than to cause harm. Rashtrapati Bhavan is in the middle of a so-called ‘Green Zone’, surrounded by huge cement walls and barbed wire, and the roads near it have also been closed for a long time.

Video by national TV shows the moment rockets landed near the Presidential Palace during Eid prayers this morning. pic.twitter.com/WmEniyfLfM

— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) July 20, 2021

Western forces, including the US, have started withdrawing their forces from Afghanistan, due to which Taliban attacks have increased in the country. With the Taliban taking control of many districts in Afghanistan and violence in many places, there is not much sign of a political solution. In a statement issued on Saturday, Afghanistan called on Pakistan to “identify the perpetrators at the earliest and prosecute them”.

Taliban-Afghanistan call for an immediate political solution 

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Jay Khalilzad met with Pakistan’s leadership on Monday and called for an immediate political settlement between the Taliban and the Afghan government. According to a statement issued by the US Embassy here, Khalilzad paid a one-day visit to Pakistan and met Prime Minister Imran Khan and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa. “Ambassador Khalilzad stressed the urgency of a comprehensive political agreement between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban, leading to lasting peace and maintaining Afghanistan’s security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity,” the statement said. ‘

The statement said the ongoing war in Afghanistan is a threat to the entire region and hinders its development. Conversely, peace will enhance regional connectivity and trade and development. “We are committed to doing our part to turn this idea into a reality,” the statement said. Concrete and material support for the Afghanistan peace process is just as important to its eventual success as the positive long-term relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In a meeting with Khalilzad, Prime Minister Khan said that the Afghan conflict is not in Pakistan’s interest, according to an official statement. “A lasting peace in Afghanistan will open the way for regional economic connectivity,” he said. Khalilzad had arrived in Islamabad as part of a tour of the region. He arrived here from Qatar, where representatives of the Taliban and the Afghan government held two days of talks, which ended late Sunday. The talks promised to bring the warring sides together again. Khalilzad’s visit comes at a time when relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have strained over the abduction and attack of Silsila Alikhil, daughter of Afghanistan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Najibullah Alikhil.