'Attacking civilians won't get you more privileges in peace talks', Gh slams Taliban

Strongly attacking the Taliban for the car bomb attack in Afghstan's Ghazni province earlier on Sunday, President Ashraf Gh said that the group cannot benefit in the intra-Afghan summit underway in the Qatari capital of Doha that seeks to find lasting peace in the war-torn country.

"Taliban should realise that it is not possible that they can get more privileges in the [peace] talks [in Qatar] by targeting civilians, particularly children," Gh said in the statement cited by Tolo News.

The Ghazni attack that left 12 dead and 150 others wounded was "strongly" condemned by the Presidential Palace, the Chief Executive's Office, the US Special Envoy on Afghan peace reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghstan and was called an "indiscriminate and horrific" attack.

Gh said that the Taliban showed that their words and actions are not the same. He said in the statement that the Taliban is holding talks with Afghans in Qatar while "their hands are stained with the blood of the innocent people of Afghstan every day".

The suicide car bombing, later claimed by the Taliban, targeted a military installation in PD3 of the city of Ghazni sparking fear and outrage among the residents who in the past few months have been facing deadly violence as a result of Taliban's attacks.

The incident came shortly before the two-day summit, sponsored by Qatar and Germany, was scheduled to begin early on Sunday and is being attended by a delegation of about 50 high-profile Afghan citizens.

"The meeting is aimed at further pushing the intra-Afghan negotiations for peace," former Afghan envoy to Pakistan, Omar Zakhilwal, who is attending the summit, told Al Jazeera.

Zakhilwal said the summit "complements" the ongoing United States-Taliban talks, also being held in Doha.

The Taliban, which has repeatedly refused to negotiate with the West-backed government of Afghan President Ashraf Gh, agreed to join the summit on the condition that the attendees will do so in a personal capacity.

( With inputs from ANI )