• As the violence in Afghanistan continues to escalate, the US Secretary of Defense urges the international community to exert pressure.
• Said that the Afghan people deserve peace.
• Lloyd Austin’s statement came when the Taliban claimed to control more than 85% of Afghanistan’s territory.

Washington: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin called on the international community to exert pressure on Friday to force the Kabul government to reach an agreement with the Taliban to end the conflict in Afghanistan.

Austin said in a tweet: “The security situation in Afghanistan will only require more international pressure to negotiate a political solution to end the conflict and provide the Afghan people with the government they want and deserve.”

“By continuing to push, the whole world can help.”

Austin made this call one day after US President Joe Biden announced that the United States will complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 31, after nearly two decades of war.

After a year of fruitless negotiations between the two sides in Doha, the Pentagon chief did not specify which countries he urged to help reach a settlement.

However, it is generally believed that Pakistan has a significant influence on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, the Afghan government delegation met with Taliban representatives in Tehran under the auspices of Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif.

“Today, the Afghan people and political leaders must make difficult decisions for the future of their country,” Zarif said.

Zarif called on the warring parties in Afghanistan to return to the negotiating table, saying that “committing to a political solution is the best choice for Afghan leaders and political movements”.

At the time when the Taliban, who was ousted from power in 2001 due to a US-led invasion, made a call, as the US withdrawal was nearing completion, the Taliban steadily gained a position against government forces in a difficult offensive.

Earlier on Friday, they claimed that after seizing key border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan, they controlled 85% of the country’s territory.

The government disputed this statement, saying that they had expelled the combatants from Qala-i-naw, the capital of the northwestern province where fighting was fierce this week.