Afghanistan: Taliban promise to protect Corona virus-related medical staff

The Afghan Taliban pledged to protect global organizations and their workers in connection with the Coronavirus and announced their support to fight the global outbreak.

Al Jazeera reports that the Taliban, in a statement, called on health-care agencies to send medicines, medical aid and essential machinery to their control areas.

He said in his statement that "our businessmen should cooperate with those in times of crisis in light of their Islamic and human responsibility".

According to the report, the Taliban said in the statement that the virus was the punishment of God's 'disobedience and sins'.

It is believed that 22 cases of corona virus have been confirmed in Afghanistan so far.

In war-torn Afghanistan, there is a very poor health system, with a large number of people turning to neighboring countries for treatment, while in neighboring Iran, the number of coronaviruses has exceeded 1,000.

The Taliban's permission to allow global organizations to continue medical treatment against the Corona virus in the country is being considered positive because no such policy has been adopted in the past.

Remember that the Taliban banned the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Institutes of Health (WHO) in 2019, accusing them of 'suspicious' activities, but later lifting the ban.

On the other hand, Roland Kobia, the European Union's special envoy to Afghanistan, demanded a full ceasefire in view of the growing threat of the Corona virus.

Roland Kobian, in his statement addressing the Taliban, said that 'everyone should be helped against the Corona virus and that the first step to better help is complete ceasefire'.

He added that 'do not interfere with humanitarian acts, ensure full protection, contact and cooperate with the government'.

Wahid Omar, a close associate of President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan, welcomed the statement of a European Union Special Representative requesting the Taliban to stop the attacks and allow medical staff to travel to the troubled areas.

In a social media statement, Waheed Omar said that "there are reports of Taliban raising medical facilities in many areas of Afghanistan which should be stopped immediately".