Pakistan Should Engage in Healthy Competition With India, ‘Bombs Won’t Work’: Afghanistan VP Amrullah Sal… – News18
Afghanistan's first Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Monday spoke exclusively to CNN-News18 and talked about what he hopes from the Joe Biden administration - after a tumultuous relationship with his predecessor - withdrawal of US troops, peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government and the India-Afghanistan relationship. He also had a few suggestions for Pakistan on improving its relationship with India and other countries.
Here's an excerpt from the interview:
Q: On multiple occasions, you said you are also a victim of the Afghan war and the Biden administration should also think about withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan. Don't you think this will delay Afghanistan to come to the mainstream?
Amrullah Saleh: First of all, we are very glad that US President Joe Biden's administration has started the review process of the so-called Doha agreement which has a lot of flaws and cracks within it. And they have increased their consultation with us which is also a very positive sign. It has been a very complex conflict, a very long conflict involving foreign factors and a lot of issues. Certainly, there can't be a pressure-cooked peace process and settlement. Therefore more consultation, more review and ensuring there are verification mechanisms in place, are absolutely needed.
Q: We hear two types of voices of Afghan people on this issue. You are a politician and now holding a post also in the Government. Do you think Afghan people also want that US troops should stay in Afghanistan for some more time?
Amrullah Saleh: Well, no Afghan wants any foreign troops in Afghanistan. It's not about wishing to see foreign troops in my country. But the question is why these foreign troops came here in the first place. They came here to make sure that Afghanistan didn't become a safe haven again for terrorism. That threat is not finished, the mission is not accomplished. We are still fighting a group that we have defeated many times. They are not headquartered in Afghanistan, that's why they have not been fully defeated. They still have very close ties with regional terror outfits, with global terrorist outfits like Al-Qaeda, like Da'esh. And they have created an eco-system for terrorism. For as long as this threat is there, it's in the national interest and security interest of NATO and the US to remain engaged and make sure another 9/11 does not happen.
Q: In a recent tweet you said you are ready to prove case by case that release Talibani prisoners are back to the same job and doing terrorism? What kind of evidence you have?
Amrullah Saleh: We have multiple types of evidence. This evidence is of course both circumstantial and hard. Let me first tell you the hard evidence. The hard evidence is - some of these people have been captured again as they have tried to be part of the terror campaign in our large cities or they have been captured again with smoking gun as they have tried to attack our posts and civilian installations all over the country. So we have them, some of them, back in our custody. That's evidence number one. Evidence number two, when in the battle enemy combatants get killed we try to find their identity and we proof check it with sources. And our estimate is that nearly 200 have been killed in battle after they rejoined the ranks of the Taliban, so thats evidence two. And the circumstantial evidence - we have traces of none of them having resorted to a peaceful life with their families as was promised to us. Our demand then that we put a verification mechanism to ensure that these terrorists do not go back to reinforce the Taliban ranks was not taken into consideration because the US was the in-between power negotiating. And that style of negotiation was not very helpful and we were not directly negotiating with the Taliban. And in the meantime, a British university did a study and they sent researchers to Pakistan and from there to Afghanistan. And they came up with a very detailed study saying 85 per cent of them at least are back in the fight.
Q: Recent UN report also talked about Taliban link with Al-Qaida? Two top commanders killed recently were given shelter by the Taliban. Your take?
Amrullah Saleh: Well, not only have the Taliban not severed ties with Al Qaeda, and I fully concur with the conclusions of the UN, but we are also seeing a very disturbing pattern of Taliban and Da'esh collaboration at a tactical and operational level, which means Taliban has created a conducive environment and at times provided a platform for Daesh to attack civilians and try to create sectarian divisions in Afghanistan. They have not been able to create sectarian division. We are very united. Two days ago, our primary intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security came up with a statement that they had apprehended a joint cell of Haqqani and Daesh. They would do the operations depending on the nature of the targets, either Daesh will take the responsibility or Taliban, or they will both remain silent and let it be an unclaimed attack. So when we say Taliban ideologically or in deep brotherhood or in Alliance with Daesh, it's not an obstruct intellectual judgment, we have evidence in hand. It is matters like these that need very thorough thinking-through, which has persuaded the new Biden administration to give a closer look at the Doha agreement and see if Taliban have lived to their commitments and they have honored their pledges and promise.
Q: Afghan government feels that it was a mistake and blind trust to release Taliban prisoners. Whom you trusted? Pressure group or Taliban?
Amrullah Saleh: Well, it worked like this as it is started. We were assured by the United States negotiating team. And they assured us that they have enough...let's say protective measures to make sure that the Taliban who are released do not go back to the battlefield. But, now it seems those measures were not in place. That's one. And now it seems it was a massive concession to the Taliban without gaining much from them for the peace process. The Taliban have not socialized peace literature. They have created this group which serves as a facade travelling around, but inside Afghanistan, we have not seen a single Taliban operator appreciating peace and showing readiness for a political settlement. So we see a deception. The deception is, outside Afghanistan, they are promoting the narrative of peace with the help of the Pakistani establishment, but, inside Afghanistan, the military and terror activities have intensified. It's the same with the government of Pakistan. They publicly go around and say they support the Afghan peace process, but covertly, they have not reduced their support, i.e they still provide ammonium nitrate to the Taliban which is the main material and substance which they convert into bombs and IEDs. The flow of military-grade explosives to the Taliban has continued unhindered. Again we have seen military electronics for the detonation of bombs and bomb-making. We have captured such equipment along with Taliban terrorists and we have traced them back to sources in Pakistan. So we see this double-track deceptive policy, talk peace but do war. That's what we are seeing on the ground.
Q: You have called out the Taliban on their commitment to Afghanistan and its
Excerpt from:
Pakistan Should Engage in Healthy Competition With India, 'Bombs Won't Work': Afghanistan VP Amrullah Sal... - News18
- At town hall, Trump mixes up Alaska and Afghanistan with confusing remarks on oil - Alaska Beacon - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Where is Afghanistan Three Years into Taliban Rule? - United States Institute of Peace - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Blinken subpoenaed to appear next week before House committee over Afghanistan - Reuters - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Afghanistan reopens its embassy in Oman, the Taliban say - The Associated Press - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Afghanistan vs South Africa 3rd ODI Highlights: South Africa Register Consolation Win Over Afghanist.. - NDTV Sports - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Why Does the Taliban Hate the Women of Afghanistan This Much? | Opinion - Newsweek - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- The Taliban have suspended polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan, the UN says - The Associated Press - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- The tragic politicization of the Afghanistan withdrawal - Columbia Journalism Review - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- State Department accuses House GOP of calling Blinken to testify about Afghanistan when he's away - The Associated Press - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Afghanistan vs South Africa 3rd ODI Live Streaming: When And Where To Watch - NDTV Sports - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- ABC admits video of Australian soldiers firing from helicopter in Afghanistan was incorrectly edited - The Guardian - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- AFG vs SA, 3rd ODI Live Cricket Score: Afghanistan bat first against South Africa - The Times of India - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Afghanistan script history with first ever win over South Africa - ICC Cricket - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Afghanistan advances to knockout stage of Futsal World Cup - Amu TV - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- Terrorists Use Weapons Left by U.S. in Afghanistan to Attack Civilians, Police in Pakistan - Judicial Watch - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- South Africa clinch consolation win against Afghanistan in third ODI - The Times of India - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- How will Afghanistan feature in the race for the White House? - Arab News - September 22nd, 2024 [September 22nd, 2024]
- The Observer view on Afghanistan: Britain and the US are complicit in the Talibans oppression of women - The Guardian - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- GOP probe of Bidens Afghanistan exit expands as election nears - The Washington Post - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Everything To Know About Taliban's New "Vice And Virtue" Law In Afghanistan - NDTV - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Opinion: The Taliban are waging war on women in Afghanistan. This is how we are resisting - The Globe and Mail - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Aline Jalliet, author: 'In Afghanistan, the female voice itself becomes an act of dissent' - Le Monde - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Analysis | Trump appears to have misled Gold Star families on troop deaths in Afghanistan - The Washington Post - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- GOP-led House panel tells Blinken to testify on Afghanistan withdrawal "or face contempt" - Axios - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Afghanistan vs New Zealand One-Off Test Live Streaming: When and where to watch AFG vs NZ Test in Greater Noida? - The Indian Express - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- House Republicans subpoena Secretary Blinken for testimony on US withdrawal from Afghanistan - The Associated Press - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Afghanistan vs New Zealand one-off Test Live streaming: When and where to watch - India Today - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- New Zealand seek to exploit Afghanistan's red-ball inexperience in one-off Test - The Hindu - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- 'In Waves and War' Review: Doc Explores Afghanistan Vets' PTSD - Variety - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Heres how we can help oppressed women and girls in Afghanistan | Letters - The Guardian - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Blinken Subpoenaed for Testimony on Afghanistan Withdrawal - Newsweek - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- 'We can beat any team' says Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi ahead of facing New Zealand - The Times of India - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Austria to team up with Germany in joint deportations to Afghanistan - Euronews - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Assessing Claims That Trump Freed the Leader of Afghanistan From Prison in 2018 - The Dispatch - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Afghanistan Vs New Zealand One-Off Test Live Streaming: Date, Time, Venue, And Other Details - Outlook India - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- AFG vs NZ Live: When and where to watch Afghanistan vs New Zealand Test live on TV and streaming in India? - India TV News - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- 'Thats false': Trump caught lying about Afghanistan withdrawal to families of slain veterans - AlterNet - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Scotland, Gaza and Afghanistan Where have the Gods Gone? - The Wire - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- White House says Biden and Harris werent invited to Arlington Cemetery by families of service members killed during Afghanistan withdrawal - NBC News - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Reading the UAEs outreach to the Talibans Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan - Observer Research Foundation - September 8th, 2024 [September 8th, 2024]
- Afghanistan: Meet the midwife who stayed - UN News - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- The Taliban says it wants people to visit Afghanistan. Heres what its like - CNN - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- We may be done with Afghanistan, but it's not done with us: Ex-Green Beret - Fox News - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- Three years after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, meet the midwife who stayed, delivered and saved lives - United Nations Population Fund - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- Trump would demand Afghanistan disaster resignations, back pay for troops fired for refusing vax on Day 1, he says at NC rally - New York Post - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- A Marine's harrowing account of how he knew Afghanistan was doomed nine years before the withdrawal - Daily Mail - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- Whats more important, my dream or the women of Afghanistan?: breakdancer Manizha Talash on her Olympic protest - The Guardian - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- Uzbekistan Forges Ahead, Deepening Relations With Taliban-ruled Afghanistan - The Diplomat - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- Biden Campaigns, Afghanistan Votes and Hawaii Becomes a State: Picturing This Week in History Aug. 19 25 - U.S. News & World Report - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- No singing or reading aloud: Afghanistan introduces new law putting further restrictions on women - The Times of India - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- US Has Hit Back At Militants For Afghanistan Suicide Bombing That Killed 13 Service Members: Official - International Business Times - August 25th, 2024 [August 25th, 2024]
- Inside the Virginia Newsroom Trying to Save Afghanistan From Tyranny - The Atlantic - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- A shootout on Pakistan's frontier with Afghanistan kills 5 militants and 3 Pakistani soldiers - ABC News - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Three years ago this month America withdrew from Afghanistan - The Economist - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Afghanistan owes Trump building $200,000 - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Former Afghanistan president calls on Taliban to allow education for girls - JURIST - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Inside the Talibans Afghanistan - The National Interest Online - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Hundreds of cases of femicide recorded in Afghanistan since Taliban takeover are tip of the iceberg - The Guardian - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- How Biden allowed the Taliban to return to rule Afghanistan - New York Post - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Harris sidesteps blame for bungled Afghanistan withdrawal; congressional report to outline role - Washington Times - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Reimagining Womens Rights in Afghanistan: Federalism as a Pathway to Gender Equality - JURIST - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Need for an Urgent Rethink of International Response to the Human Rights Crisis in Afghanistan - Human Rights Watch - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have agreed to increase trade to $ 3 billion. - Eurasia Daily - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- 3 years after the Talibans return, Afghanistan is a broken country swarming with terrorists again - The Conversation Indonesia - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Uzbek prime minister is in Afghanistan in highest-level visit since the Taliban took power - Stars and Stripes - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Life in Afghanistan dire as Taliban mark 3 years of rule - DW (English) - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Afghanistan and its women in oblivion - The Diplomat in Spain - August 20th, 2024 [August 20th, 2024]
- Afghanistan Three Years after the Taliban Takeover - Crisis Group - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- A timeline of events in Afghanistan in the 3 years since the Talibans takeover - The Associated Press - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Afghanistan: Three years of Taliban rule and international inaction have left Afghan community with little hope - Amnesty International - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Afghans in Vermont recognize 3-year anniversary of U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan - Vermont Biz - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Stefanik Statement on the Third Anniversary of the Biden-Harris Catastrophic Afghanistan Withdrawal - Congresswoman Elise Stefanik - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Taliban celebrates three years since returning to power in Afghanistan - FRANCE 24 English - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- UNGA Side Event Ensuring Aid Effectiveness Amidst Afghanistan's Growing Food Insecurity - Princeton School of Public and International Affairs - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Break the Silence: End human rights violations in Afghanistan - Amnesty International - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Afghanistan: 20 years of steady education progress almost wiped out - UN News - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Afghanistan: Need for an urgent rethink of international response to the human rights crisis - World Organisation Against Torture - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- I was imprisoned and tortured by the Taliban for protesting gender apartheid in Afghanistan - Atlantic Council - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Local Afghans reflect back on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan three years ago - WBUR News - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]
- Radical Taliban observe third year of ruling Afghanistan - Voice of America - VOA News - August 16th, 2024 [August 16th, 2024]