The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), Amir Khan Muttaqi, said Wednesday that Afghanistan is a free and independent nation and its internal and external policies are not affected by any country.

In an interview with India’s Strat News Global in Kabul, Muttaqi said that no country has any influence over the government of Afghanistan and that it makes all its decisions independently.

The foreign minister emphasized that the Islamic Emirate wants good diplomatic relations with the United States. He said Kabul has maintained contact for diplomatic interaction with the US.

“Afghanistan makes its own decisions and makes its own policies,” said Muttaqi adding that “Afghanistan is an independent and free country and is not influenced by any country, it makes every decision in the field of its foreign policy.”

Muttaqi also said the Islamic Emirate wants diplomatic relations with all countries in the world.

According to the foreign minister, Kabul has maintained contact with Washington and hopes that relations with America will improve in the future.

Muttaqi also reassured India on the safety of its diplomats in Kabul and called on Delhi to strengthen relations with the Islamic Emirate.

“Afghanistan is now an independent and sovereign government, a government that has complete control over its borders and territory and does not allow anyone to direct threats against the country; sending diplomats from India to Afghanistan, accepting our diplomats at the Afghan embassy in New Delhi and the start of issuing visas to Afghans, as well as the start of business relations, is a great development in our interactions. We want to strengthen and develop relations with India, diplomatic places are a good bridge between us and the Indian authorities,” Muttaqi added.

At the same time, on the one-year anniversary of the US and NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan, senior US military and defense officials say that they will continue the fight against terrorism not only in Afghanistan but in other parts of the world.

“Today marks exactly one year since the end of the 20-year war and the withdrawal of our military forces from Afghanistan. We are proud of the professional performance of our forces in twenty years of war in Afghanistan and the cooperation of NATO and our other partners and allies, the war in Afghanistan is over but the fight continues.

“We will continue the fight against terrorism, we will use our special war capabilities in this direction,” said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

“All our forces, including the combat, naval, air, special forces and other military forces, should be proud to serve in Afghanistan to protect their country against terrorist attacks, but the battle continues, we will use our capabilities over the horizon not only in Afghanistan but in other parts of the world. Terrorists around the world should know that we will come after them,” said Mark Milley, the US Chief of Staff.

The first anniversary of the withdrawal of the United States and its allies in Afghanistan was celebrated Wednesday at a special ceremony at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul with senior officials of the Islamic Emirate in attendance.

Among those present was the IEA’s Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund.

At the ceremony, Akhund called on the world, especially the United States, to not repeat the “bitter experiences of the past twenty years” and to interact with the new government of Afghanistan.

“The world should come to negotiations to resolve problems instead of making excuses for creating more (problems); the Islamic Emirate is ready to talk to them,” said Akhund.

Akhund said the problems in Afghanistan have been caused by the “destructive actions of America and its allies in the past two decades.”

The ceremony also included a military drill, with soldiers marching in a parade and different military vehicles and equipment left behind by foreign forces and the previous government showcased.

In a statement on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the IEA’s takeover, the Islamic Emirate stated that policies, pressure and threats against the Afghan people over twenty years by the US military failed and led to the escalating crisis.

According to the statement, the Islamic Emirate urged the international community to adopt a reasonable policy towards Afghanistan and to respect the independent Islamic system and the will of the people so that Afghanistan, as an independent nation, may have normal relations and positive interaction with the world.

Last year on this day, August 31, foreign forces led by the US and NATO were defeated and expelled from Afghanistan after twenty years of military presence.

At Wednesday’s ceremony, the Islamic Emirate emphasized that it will no longer allow any country to have a military presence in Afghanistan and will establish relations with countries based on national interests only through diplomatic means.

Iran and Turkey are preventing entry of Afghan refugees or forcibly returning them to Afghanistan, in violation of international law, Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday.

Hundreds of thousands fled Afghanistan in August 2021 after the U.S. left the country in a chaotic military pullout.

Many are poor and lack passports or other valid travel documents, making them especially vulnerable to border police who use threats or outright violence to keep them out or push them back, Amnesty said.

“Iranian and Turkish security forces have unlawfully used firearms against Afghans trying to cross the border irregularly as a deterrent and a pushback method, sometimes resulting in deaths or injuries,” the report said.

Amnesty said it based its findings on interviews with dozens of Afghans, including 74 who were forcibly returned, sometimes with children or other family members.

The NGO cited numerous cases of “unlawful killings, pushbacks by shooting and other unlawful returns, arbitrary detention, and torture and other ill-treatment of Afghans at the hands of both Iranian and Turkish officials.”

In particular, it documented killings of 11 Afghans by Iranian security forces and three Afghans by Turkish forces over the past year.

Under international law, countries are obliged to ensure a right to seek asylum and the principle of non-refoulement, or the forced return of refugees to countries where they would face persecution or other human rights violations.