Pope Francis expresses concern for people in Afghanistan, calls for peace

Pope Francis said on Sunday that he shares “the unanimous concern for the situation in Afghanistan” as the Taliban looked poised to return to power after two decades of war and bloodshed in the country.

“I join in the unanimous worry about the situation in Afghanistan. I ask you to pray along with me to the God of peace so that the din of weapons ends and that solutions can be found around a table of dialogue,” the Pope said to pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square.

“#LetUsPray for Afghanistan, so that the clamour of weapons might cease and solutions can be found at the table of dialogue. Only thus can the battered population of that country return to their own homes and live in peace,” the Pope tweeted.

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The Pope also extended his solidarity to the people of Haiti, which has been hit by an earthquake of 7.2 magnitude, killing more than 300 people. “I want to express my closeness to the dear people hard hit by the earthquake. May the solidarity of all alleviate the consequences of the tragedy!” the Pope tweeted.

As of now, the Taliban have captured 25 out of the country’s 34 provinces, and have reached the outskirts of Kabul. There are reports of Taliban’s commander Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar having flown from Doha in Qatar to Kabul. He is reportedly in talks with the Afghanistan Presidential Palace. Current President Ashraf Ghani will step down within a few hours and Baradar will become the new president under the Taliban rule in the country.

(With inputs from Agencies)