New Delhi: Denouncing the Taliban's nationwide offensiveness, the United States has urged the insurgents to take the peace process as seriously as their military campaign in the war-torn country. This comes at a time when the Taliban insurgents have captured an Afghan provincial capital and have killed the government's senior media officer in Kabul on Friday amid the fast-evolving security situation as the US intensifies the troop's withdrawal.
Addressing a press briefing, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, "If the Taliban claim to want international legitimacy, these actions are not going to get them the legitimacy they seek. They do not have to stay on this trajectory". They could choose to devote the same energy to the peace process as they are to their military campaign. We strongly urge them to do so. This is what the Afghan people so urgently need, deserve after decades of war, she added.
Read: 'Legal, regulatory issues need to be worked out': US on delay in COVID vaccine grant to India
The White House spokeswoman further condemned the assassination of Dawa Khan Menapal, the Director of the Afghan Governmental Information media centre. She said, "His murder follows the bombing attack in Kabul earlier this week that targeted the Acting Afghan Defense Minister". The Taliban has claimed responsibility for this attack, and there’s no reason to doubt reports they are responsible, the White House spokesperson stated.
Psaki said that the United States is closely monitoring and tracking the atrocities and retaliation perpetrated against the civilians in Taliban-controlled areas. And it’s very much in Afghanistan’s neighbours’ interest to invest renewed energy into a peace process that promotes a peaceful Afghanistan and stable region, she said, reiterating that the US President made it clear that after 20 years at war, it is time for the American troops to come home.
Read: Taliban captures capital of Afghanistan's Nimroz province
"As it relates to the decision, — we knew from the beginning — and the President would be the first to say this — that there are difficult choices a Commander-in-Chief needs to make on behalf of the American people. And as he said at the time, the status quo was not an option. The Taliban was prepared to attack U.S. and NATO troops after May 1st, which was the deadline for our departure", Jen Psaki pointed out.
The White House spokeswoman said during the press briefing that President Biden also feels and has stated that the Afghan government and the Afghan National Defense Forces have the training, equipment, and numbers to prevail, and now is the moment for the leadership and the will in the face of the Taliban’s aggression and violence.
