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KABUL: Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the high council for national reconciliation warns that Taliban militants would be more heartened to continue war once the US-led foreign troops leave Afghanistan.
The United States has already begun troop withdrawal and is expected to pull all its 2,500 soldiers out of the warn-hit country by September 11. Other NATO-member states have also said they would leave Afghanistan at the same time of the US withdrawal.
Abdullah said Monday that Taliban are mulling war rather than seeking peaceful ways.
“One side thinks about a power vacuum and tries to use such situation for its benefits. Another side thinks of peaceful ways. This is a matter of concern because emboldens Taliban,” he said.
Abdullah accused Taliban of making excuses for the foreign presence, saying that no foreign soldier would remain in Afghanistan within three months.
Taliban said Saturday the US violated the Qatar agreement they signed in 2020 under which the last American soldiers should have left Afghanistan by May 1. The militant group threatened to attack foreign troops after May 1.
A rocket crashed in the Kandahar airfield after Taliban’s threat. The rocket was intercepted by the US troops stationed in the airfield.
The US Forces Commander in Afghanistan Scott Miller said that any attack on their soldiers would be hardly responded.
“We cannot reject the possibility of tough situation in Afghanistan and the war will continue. But Taliban have not rejected yet negotiations. So let’s be hopeful otherwise this will be the most unpleasant scenario,” Abdullah said.
