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Taliban urges complete withdrawal in open letter to Americans
Taliban Deputy Leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar says that there is no military solution to the long-term conflict in Afghanistan.
In an open letter to the people of the United States, Mullah Baradar stated: “The past nineteen years have proven beyond any doubt that the Afghan issue cannot be resolved through the use of force or by alternating military strategies and generals.”
Baradar emphasized that the people of Afghanistan are dealing with an “imposed war.”
“It is the responsibility and in the interest of all to bring an end to this war and the implementation of the Doha agreement is the most effective way of ending it,” the letter read.
The US and the Taliban signed an agreement on February 29, 2020, aimed at bringing peace to Afghanistan.
According to the deal, the US committed to withdrawing all its forces within the 14 months of the agreement. In exchange, the Taliban pledged to cut ties with terrorist groups including Al-Qaeda, and begin negotiations with the government of Afghanistan.
Mullah Baradar stated that the US-Taliban deal “with the aim that all foreign military forces along with their non-diplomatic personnel, private contractors, advisors, trainers and service providers withdraw from Afghanistan within a 14-month timeframe, while the Islamic Emirate [Taliban] would reciprocate by committing itself to prevent all threats to the security of other nations from Afghanistan.”
As per the Doha deal, the US needed to reduce its troop levels to 2,500 by December 2020 and direct talks needed to start between the Afghan government and the Taliban negotiating teams – which happened in September 2020.
Although the two sides held several meetings, they did not reach an agreement over the agenda of the intra-Afghan talks. The negotiations have since stalled and some members of the Republic’s peace team have returned to Kabul.
Meanwhile, some politicians believe that the peace talks’ failure could plunge the country into a new crisis.
“We are at a milestone, if we consider it, it is possible to reach a desirable solution. Otherwise, there would not be a war but we would witness a bigger crisis. Because both sides could use all their forces,” Ali Ahmad Osmani, a former cabinet member said.
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.
According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.
“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.
It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.
Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.
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