Pakistan condemns assassination of two female judges in Kabul

Relatives of the victims arrive at the site following gunmen shot dead two Afghan women judges working for the Supreme Court, in Kabul on January 17, 2021. (AFP)

• Calls for reduction in violence and a cease-fire in Afghanistan, urges vigilance against spoliers 
• Killings are latest in a wave of killings in Kabul and other cities while government and Taliban hold peace talks in Qatar

Islamabad: Pakistan has condemned the assassination of two female judges from Afghanistan’s Supreme Court on Sunday morning, the latest in a wave of killings in Kabul and other cities while government and Taliban representatives hold peace talks in Qatar.
“This is a brutal act of terrorism,” the Pakistani foreign office said. “Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
“We have repeatedly called for reduction in violence and a cease-fire in Afghanistan. We strongly believe that there is no military solution to the Afghan conflict,” the statement added. 
The latest attack came just two days after the Pentagon announced it had cut troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500, the lowest number in nearly two decades.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a statement condemning attacks on civilians by the Taliban and other militant groups. Ghani said “terror, horror and crime” was not a solution to Afghanistan’s problem and beseeched the Taliban to accept “a permanent cease-fire”.
Government officials, journalists, and activists have been targeted in recent months, stoking fear particularly in the capital Kabul.
The Taliban has denied involvement in some of the attacks, but has said its fighters would continue to “eliminate” important government figures, though not journalists or civil society members.