Latest News
No guarantees about Afghanistan’s future post-pullout: American NSA
No one can offer guarantees about Afghanistan’s future after U.S. troops leave, a top White House official said on Sunday, even as he stressed the United States would stay focused on terrorist threats emanating from the country.
This comes after US President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday that United States will withdraw all remaining troops from Afghanistan by September 11.
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, the White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was asked about the risk of a repeat of what happened in Iraq, where Islamic State (ISIS) militants seized territory after U.S. troops withdrew in 2011.
That led then-President Barack Obama to send troops back into Iraq.
Sullivan said Biden had no intention of sending American forces back to Afghanistan, but he added: “I can’t make any guarantees about what will happen inside the country. No one can.”
“All the United States could do is provide the Afghan security forces, the Afghan government and the Afghan people resources and capabilities, training and equipping their forces, providing assistance to their government. We have done that and now it is time for American troops to come home and the Afghan people to step up to defend their own country.”
But Afghan President Ashraf Ghani rejected what he said were “false analogies” with the war in Vietnam as well as any suggestion his government was at risk of folding under Taliban pressure after U.S. troops leave. Afghan security forces were capable of defending the country, he said.
“The Afghan defense and security forces have been carrying over 90% of the operations in the last two years,” Ghani said in an interview with CNN.
Meanwhile former president Donald Trump said in a statement that leaving Afghanistan was “a wonderful and positive thing to do,” but called for a more rapid departure. Trump had set a May 1 deadline to withdraw.
CIA Director William Burns told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday that America’s ability to collect intelligence and act against extremist threats in Afghanistan will diminish after the departure of U.S. troops, Reuters reported.
A United Nations report in January said there were as many as 500 al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan and that the Taliban maintained a close relationship with the group. The Taliban denies al-Qaeda has a presence in Afghanistan.
Announcing his decision to withdraw troops, Biden said the United States would monitor the threat, reorganize counterterrorism capabilities and keep substantial assets in the region to respond to threats to the United States emerging from Afghanistan.
“He has no intention of taking our eye off the ball,” Sullivan said of the president.
“We have the capacity, from repositioning our capabilities over the horizon, to continue to suppress the terrorist threat in Afghanistan.”
Shahabuddin Delawar, president of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), met with Richard Lindsay, the UK’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, to discuss the country’s humanitarian situation and ways to expand assistance for vulnerable communities.
According to ARCS, the meeting focused on support for people affected by natural disasters, Afghan returnees and other vulnerable groups, particularly their urgent humanitarian and healthcare needs.
Delawar thanked the United Kingdom for its humanitarian assistance to people affected by natural disasters and briefed Lindsay on the ARCS’s humanitarian and healthcare activities.
He highlighted the society’s services for children with congenital heart defects at its cardiac hospital, vocational training and skills development programs for vulnerable women and children across seven regional zones, mental healthcare services, and assistance to communities affected by natural disasters.
Delawar said decades of hardship had left many Afghans facing mental health challenges, while vulnerable families continued to struggle with difficult living conditions. He stressed the need for expanded humanitarian assistance and healthcare support.
Referring to the return of Afghan refugees from neighboring countries, Delawar said many families urgently need shelter, food, non-food items and medical services. He called for greater UK cooperation to help meet returnees’ basic needs.
Lindsay praised the ARCS’s humanitarian work and pledged continued cooperation in supporting returnees and other humanitarian initiatives in the coming year. He also said he would seek to facilitate effective cooperation with the society in the healthcare sector.
Both sides underscored the importance of strengthening cooperation to expand humanitarian assistance, support vulnerable communities and improve healthcare services in Afghanistan.
Amir Khan Muttaqi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, met with Yatin Patel, India’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul, on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Muttaqi emphasized that, in line with its balanced foreign policy, the Islamic Emirate attaches importance to relations with India.
Referring to the growing volume of trade between the two countries, he stressed the need to strengthen communication and cooperation between Afghanistan’s and India’s public and private sectors, adding that cooperation should be expanded to make better use of existing capacities.
Meanwhile, Yatin Patel said India seeks to expand its relations and engagement with Afghanistan in the economic, political and humanitarian fields.
Muttaqi also wished Patel success in his new assignment.
Mohammad Naeem, Deputy Minister for Finance and Administration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, met on Wednesday with Richard Lindsay, the UK’s Special Representative for Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two sides discussed Afghanistan’s political, economic and security situation, regional stability, humanitarian assistance and consular services.
Naeem expressed appreciation for the UK’s humanitarian assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan and stressed the importance of continuing cooperation between the two sides.
Tahawol: Kyrgyzstan’s rejection of Afghan refugees discussed
Saar: Central Asia’s trade alternative to Pakistan discussed
ARCS, UK envoy discuss humanitarian needs of vulnerable Afghans
FM Muttaqi says IEA values ties with India under its balanced foreign policy
Afghanistan and UK stress expanding bilateral cooperation
Cricket Bonanza: Afghanistan set for packed international schedule
UN warns of mounting humanitarian and human rights pressures in Afghanistan
Afghanistan says 28 killed, 32 captured in Nuristan operation
CNN, MS NOW and Politico sue Trump, challenging White House ban
Silk Road highway in Wakhan corridor now reaches the China border
Tahawol: Kyrgyzstan’s rejection of Afghan refugees discussed
Saar: Central Asia’s trade alternative to Pakistan discussed
Tahawol: Warnings over worsening insecurity in Pakistan discussed
Saar: Concerns over potential return of US military bases to Afghanistan discussed
Tahawol: Kabul’s criticism of Islamabad’s policy toward Afghanistan
-
Latest News5 days agoPakistan issues new directives for Afghan medical students and doctors
-
Latest News4 days agoIranian lawmaker praises Afghanistan’s support, accuses Pakistan of ‘hypocrisy’
-
Regional4 days agoHouthis warn airlines to avoid Saudi airports after deadly Riyadh attack
-
Business5 days agoAfghan-Austrian partnership aims to boost carpet exports to European markets
-
World3 days agoOne dead in new attack on Saudi airport, a day after Houthi strike kills 13
-
Sport3 days agoAfghanistan Champions League second half to kick off on October 16
-
World4 days ago14 killed in two separate mass shootings across the United States
-
Business3 days agoAfghanistan signs nearly $400 million in regional trade and investment deals