Afghan Interior Minister Masood Andarabi warns US to retreat in haste

Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Masood Andarabi warned of a hasty retreat from the war-ravaged country to the US on March 13, saying that the Taliban’s ties to al-Qaeda remain intact and a swift pullout would worsen global counter-terrorism efforts. Can.

In an interview with The Associated Press In an internally strong ministry, Mr. Andharabi said that Afghan national security forces, backed by US aid, have exerted a pressure on militant groups operating in Afghanistan, including the local Islamic State affiliate.

The hasty “supernatural retreat could certainly provide a chance for those terrorists … to threaten the world,” he said, from inside the complex, by walls of concrete blast, barbed wire and a falcon of security guards. Is protected.

The caveat is that Washington is reviewing a deal made by the Trump administration with the Taliban a year ago, calling for the withdrawal of the remaining 2,500 US troops by May 1.

The deal also calls for the Taliban to break ties with terrorist groups, like al-Qaeda. US officials have previously said that some progress has been seen, but without much detail, was needed.

No decision has been made on the review but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is trying to advance a peace process between the government and the Taliban armed opposition, has warned Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that all options are still on the table. But he should pursue peace efforts.

Mr Andharabi challenged Mr Blinken’s prediction last weekend that the withdrawal of US troops would provide territorial benefits to the Taliban, saying that Afghan troops could hold the area, but still aid to maintain remote outposts and air. Help required.

“The Afghan security forces are fully capable of defending the capital and the cities and regions that we currently have,” he said. “We think the Afghan security forces have proved to the Taliban this year that they will not be able to gain territory.” While the Taliban have not attacked US or NATO forces as a condition of the agreement, Afghan national security forces have suffered some horrific attacks.

Since the US has signed agreements with Taliban violence, crime has increased due to poverty and high unemployment. Despite the billions of dollars of international aid to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001, 72% of Afghanistan’s 37 million people live below the poverty line, surviving at $ 1.90 or less per day. Unemployment stands at around 30%.

Residents of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, are terrorized by fleeing crime, bombings and murders. Residents complain of security failures.

Mr. Andharabi expressed sympathy for the citizens’ complaints, but said that about 70% of Afghanistan’s police are battling the Taliban, destroying efforts to maintain law and order. He said that every day police face more than 100 Taliban attacks across the country.

Even the United Nations Security Council has expressed concern over the targeted killings, aimed at civil society activists, journalists, lawyers and judges. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for many people but the Taliban and the government blamed each other for the spike in the attacks.

In a press briefing on Friday, the UN Security Council called for “an immediate end to these targeted attacks and emphasized the urgent and mandatory need to bring justice to the perpetrators.” Mr. Andharabi said that there were more than 400 arrests in the last month.

But he underscored that Afghanistan still needs continued support from the international community, including the United States and NATO, in the war and peace periods.

He said that for example, great efforts would be made to reintroduce tens of thousands of armed men in the country – whatever faction they hail, he said. Police face a narcotics anti-narcotic fight in a country that produces more than 4,000 tons of opium __, which is used to make the raw materials heroin __ that every other opium-producing country. More than. Shanti said, the blindfold freed the police to fight the drug war, which is also increasing Afghanistan’s rising crime rate.