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No guarantees about Afghanistan’s future post-pullout: American NSA

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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.”

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Khalilzad questions Pakistan’s commitment to Afghan welfare

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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.”

 
 
 
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India, UN envoy discuss Afghanistan’s humanitarian needs

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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.

 
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Kazakhstan calls for coordinated international engagement with Afghanistan

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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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