E-Paper
US Prez Joe Biden assures Afghanistan of support after troop drawdown
Biden and Ghani, who was accompanied by Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation met at the White House amid growing concerns about the fate of the current government, with continued escalation of violence by the Taliban, who have backed out of peace talks till the departure of US troops.
US President Joe Biden on Friday assured visiting Afghan leaders Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah of sustained American support after the withdrawal of troops but made it clear that the fate of Afghanistan will now be in the hands of its people now.
Biden and Ghani, who was accompanied by Abdullah, chairman of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation met at the White House amid growing concerns about the fate of the current government, with continued escalation of violence by the Taliban, who have backed out of peace talks till the departure of US troops.
Afghan President Ghani, at the same time, sought to project confidence in the face of resurgent Taliban. He dismissed a US intelligence report that has forecast the fall of Kabul within six months of the departure of the last of US troops, scheduled for as early as July, saying such dire prediction “turned out false” in the past.
In the bluntest remarks on the issue yet, secretary of state Antony Blinken said in Paris on Thursday that the US is assessing the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and “whether the Taliban is, at all, serious about a peaceful resolution of the conflict”.
“Our troops may be leaving but our support for Afghanistan is not ending in terms of support and maintenance of helping maintain their military as well as economic and political support,” Biden said, seeking to assure the Afghan leaders.
