KARACHI:
Kabul is worried – and for obvious reasons. The ‘protecting power’ is withdrawing while an ascendant Taliban are advancing on Kabul. Fears run rampant that Afghanistan might descend into bloody chaos post-US exit. President Ashraf Ghani, however, says the “narrative of gloom and doom must stop” because “we are defensible”. Call it hubristic pride at best, or self-deception at worst, for US forces are halfway through their withdrawal and dozens of Afghan districts have already fallen to the Taliban. In most districts, it was an easy walkover. The Ghani administration is seeking to externalise the blame. And in Pakistan, they find a favourite whipping boy.
AP: NATO Chief Says Afghan Forces Can Cope Alone
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has helped provide security in Afghanistan for almost two decades, but the Afghan government and the Afghan forces are strong enough to stand on their own feet in absence of international troops’ support.
The US and coalition forces started their withdrawal on May 1. So far, nearly one-quarter of the withdrawal has been completed, according to the Pentagon.
“I think that the Afghans, they also realize that we have been there now for 20 years and we have invested heavily in blood and treasure in Afghanistan,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Govt: Political Leaders Ready to Join Supreme State Council
The State Minister on Peace Affairs on Thursday said that the majority of the nation’s political leaders are ready to become members of the Supreme State Council and will help the government in the post-withdrawal scenario.
Sayed Saadat Mansour Naderi, the State Minister on Peace Affairs, said that the Supreme State Council will be an authorized body and will deal with issues of national importance including the issue of war and peace.
He said that the peace negotiating team representing the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will soon decide to return to Doha to resume the talks with the Taliban side.
Taliban s Unwillingness Delayed Istanbul Summit: Rahmani
The speaker of the Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of Afghanistan’s parliament, on Wednesday said that the Taliban’s unwillingness led to the postponement of the UN-led peace conference on Afghanistan to be held in Turkey.
“The Istanbul conference is a historic opportunity for the Taliban, the government and the people of Afghanistan which shouldn’t be wasted,” said Rahmani.
“Unfortunately, there is no will from the side of the Taliban movement,” said Sayed Saadat Mansour Nadery, the State Minister for Peace Affairs.
Nadery stated that the republic side in its peace plan has agreed the to the formation of an Islamic Jurisdiction Council, not the executive council.
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