Afghan President lauds parliament attack hero, UN envoy hails Afghan forces

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has lauded Esa Khan, the Afghan soldier who killed six of the seven militants who tried to storm parliament on June 22, as a hero and honoured him by presenting him with a new home.

Mr Ghani tweeted a picture of himself greeting the soldier, Esa Khan, who will be promoted and given a medal. The Afghan security forces also got rich praise from the UN envoy to Afghanistan.

After a Taliban suicide bomber and six gunmen carried out a brazen attack on Afghanistan’s parliament on June 22, which killed two and injured dozens, the United Nations Envoy to Afghanistan Nicholas Haysom said that Afghan security forces were undeniably stretched amid ongoing threats from Taliban insurgents and Islamic State militants for establishing their foothold in the country.

“While the Afghan National Security Forces face operational challenges, their commitment is beyond question and they are demonstrating resilience in the face of insurgent efforts to take and hold ground,” Mr Haysom said at the U.N. Security Council.

He pointed out that the Islamic State’s militants were also looking to establish their foothold in the country, and to address this threat there was a demand of greater involvement and collaboration among regional countries.

Afghanistan’s UN Ambassador Zahir Tanin hailed the country’s military forces for killing all six terrorists within two hours, and said that for the fist time Afghan security forces had taken an offensive stance from its earlier defensive one. He stressed that they have shown more capability, potential and resilience than ever in the past.

The Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, had been under attack from the US-led military forces for over a decade. Their assault forced the militant group to run away and hide in the border areas. The militant group has launched a series of attacks since April this year to reestablish its rule in the country.

Mr Haysom said that there couldn’t be any progress made towards peace unless the Afghan government and the Taliban sit together and talk. He underlined that the government was ready to engage in direct talks with the Taliban, but there wasn’t any indication from them of engaging directly with the government.

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