United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire in Afghanistan to create a conducive environment for Doha peace talks with the Taliban.<br />'' <br />''The Taliban and Afghan government have been engaged in peace talks in Qatar since September 12 but no progress has been announced so far. Mr Guterres's call came in a virtual address to a global donor conference in Geneva today, with Afghanistan beset by violence between the Taliban and government forces, rampant corruption and an imminent withdrawal of US forces.<br />''<b> </b><br />''Meanwhile, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today urged the international community to continue supporting Afghanistan even as he acknowledged that donors are likely to cut aid under the strain of COVID-19.<br />''<b> </b><br />''Donor nations meet every four years to pledge aid to Afghanistan, which is almost entirely reliant on foreign assistance despite years of promised reforms and attempts to grow the economy.<br />'' <br />''But the 2020 donor conference could see less aid pledged as countries battle to recover from the devastating effect of COVID-19.<br />''Concerns are high that gains made in the past 20 years, especially in the area of women's rights, could be lost as the Taliban unleashes further violence.<br />'' <br />''Mr Ghani said that violence had skyrocketed since a US-Taliban deal in February paved the way for the withdrawal of foreign forces by May 2021. He also said plans to achieve peace did not materialise as imagined.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Earlier, the European Union (EU) foreign policy chief also called for an immediate ceasefire in the war-torn country.</span><br />