Taliban Demand Civilian Casualties Committee

Responding to a U.N. report that found that most of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan are caused by Taliban attacks, the insurgent group released a statement calling for the creation of a joint committee to investigate the deaths of noncombatants. The U.N. and NATO are considering the proposal.

The Taliban statement, which can be read here, refers to the reporting of civilian casualties as a “propaganda tool” and accuses the U.N. report of being “biased and subjective.”

The civilian casualties committee, as proposed by the Taliban, would consist of “special representatives of Islamic Conference, UN’s human rights organizations as well as representatives from ISAF forces [U.S. and NATO] and Islamic of Emirate of Afghanistan [Taliban]” and would be “given a free hand to survey the affected areas as well as people in order to collect the precise information and the facts and figures and disseminate its findings worldwide.” — PZS