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Ghani reassures ANDSF of ‘no compromise’
President Ashraf Ghani said on Monday at an event at the Ministry of Defense that there will be no compromise on Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) as long as he is “alive”.
Addressing high-ranking officials and soldiers Ghani said: “There will be no compromise on Security and Defense Forces of Afghanistan as long as I and the nation are alive. You are the pride of the Afghan people.”
Ghani stated the Afghan security forces had given the “highest sacrifice” in the last six years.
Ghani also presented a number of security force members with medals and bestowed the Ghazi Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan medal on Army Chief General Yasin Zia.
This comes just a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sparked a backlash from Afghan officials when he said US President Donald Trump’s administration had managed to convince the Taliban to sit down around the peace talks tables.
In doing this, Pompeo said, no US serviceman had been killed by the Taliban in almost a year.
Afghan officials reacted to this and pointed out that while the US might not have suffered casualties, the Afghan people were paying a heavy price.
The deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Dawa Khan Meenapal, said on Sunday that the reason why the US has not suffered casualties among its forces in the past 10 months is because foreign forces are no longer fighting in Afghanistan.
Meenapal said this was not because of the US-Taliban deal as Pompeo stated but because the US was no longer actively involved in the war on the ground.
Meenapal said the casualties are being sustained by the Afghan security forces and that the Taliban is now at war with the Afghan people and with the country’s own security forces.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special representative for Afghanistan, has questioned Pakistan’s commitment to the welfare of the Afghan people, citing Islamabad’s policies over the past three decades.
Khalilzad said in a post on X that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif advocated for the rights of Afghan women during his speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Sharif said: “Fundamental rights of the Afghan people — especially women and girls — must be respected.”
Responding to the remarks, Khalilzad said Pakistan’s policies over the past 30 years raise questions about Sharif’s commitment to Afghan welfare.
He cited Pakistan’s support for militant groups against US forces and what he described as the poor treatment of Afghan refugees as examples.
Khalilzad also said Afghanistan and Pakistan need and should have much better relations, adding that “a reset is necessary.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Rabab Fatima, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X that Misri underscored the need to keep addressing the humanitarian needs of the Afghan people as a priority.
Misri also appreciated the role of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and reaffirmed India’s continued cooperation with the United Nations on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes as Afghanistan continues to face humanitarian and economic challenges, with international agencies warning of significant needs among the Afghan population.
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called for pragmatic and coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan, saying the country’s long-term stability is closely linked to the security and sustainable development of Central Asia.
Speaking during the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday, Tileuberdi said humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan remains essential but alone cannot break the cycle of poverty, displacement and dependency.
He said Kazakhstan supports a “pragmatic, coordinated and step-by-step” approach to international engagement with Afghanistan, with the United Nations playing a central role.
Tileuberdi also said Kazakhstan is working with the UN to operationalize the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
He said the success of the centre should be measured by the results and assistance it delivers to the region.
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