KABUL:  President Ashraf Ghani has said that Taliban militants have considerably intensified violence across Afghanistan despite the group had pledged reduction.

Talking to Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in a video conference on Tuesday, he said, “Unfortunately, not only the promised reduction of violence and comprehensive ceasefire has not been realized, but the violence by the Taliban has increased substantially.”

Referring to the recent attack on Kabul University, he said that the attack was an example of increased violence across the country, regardless of who had claimed responsibility for their involvement.

Ghani said that the insurgents used drug production, illegal mining and smuggling of Afghanistan’s cultural monuments as the source of their funding.

“As a state and society, we have demonstrated the commitment, compassion, and courage to make hard decisions to start direct talks and negotiations with the Taliban,” he said.

He asked SCO representatives to support a peace process under the context of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and that a strong consensus within the organization could help Afghans achieve their utmost demand for peace.

“We are in a truly open historic moment. Our four decades of suffering, particularly of our women and children, can end. Please harness the Shanghai spirit to overcome the tragic past and create the future of cooperation together,” he said.