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Mattis, NATO Chief Renew Commitments to Afghanistan During Surprise Visit
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg pledged continued support for Afghanistan during a surprise visit to Kabul on Wednesday.
Addressing a joint news conference with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Jens Stoltenberg in Kabul, Mattis said the United States supports “Afghan-led reconciliation as the solution” to the conflict in Afghanistan.
He said Washington was determined not to allow “a merciless enemy to kill its way to power”.
Promising a more “holistic” approach without fixed timetables and involving other countries in the region, including Pakistan, he said the Taliban would have to learn they could not defeat the government.
“I want to reinforce to the Taliban that the only path to peace and political legitimacy for them is through a negotiated settlement,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg vowed to do everything so the country “doesn’t again become a safe haven for international terrorists.”
“Our presence together in Afghanistan reflects our continuing commitment to bringing stability and peace in [the country],” he said.
Thanking U.S. Defense Secretary and NATO Chief for the “unprecendented” sign of unity in joint visit, President Ghani said that his government is pursuing peace through a two channals.
“One is peace with Pakistan that would be achieved via state-to-state talks with a particular vision that stability in Afghanistan is not against the interests of any country, in fact on the contrary stability in Afghanistan paves way for economic growth in the region,” he said.
“Second is Afghan-owed peace dialogue, as today it has been proved for all that no body can impose his own wishes on Afghan people through conflict and violence,… and the government of Afghanistan has had ready for this process,” he added.
“For stability in the region, I call upon our near and far neighbors from India to Russia to join the renewed [efforts] of regional consensus, especially because the threat of terrorism has not yet been eradicated, but has in fact got even [more] serious,” Ghani said.
He stressed the Taliban now have to choose between continuing to serve international terrorism or to take part for peace and reconstruction in the country.
The visit of top officials comes as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a new strategy for Afghanistan in August, promising to step up military campaign against the Taliban militants in the country.
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) say 7,000 incomplete projects of the World Bank are at risk of destruction in Afghanistan. They call on the World Bank to resume the work of these projects.
According to them, discussions have been held with the World Bank about these projects, but there has been no result yet.
“7,000 incomplete projects are being destroyed, and if the work is not started, these projects will be destroyed. We ask the World Bank to resume the work of these projects as soon as possible,” said Noorul Hadi Adel, the spokesperson of MRRD.
Meanwhile, members of the private sector also ask international institutions to resume their work in Afghanistan.
According to the officials of this sector, with the start of these projects, job opportunities will be provided for thousands of people in the country.
“These projects create employment for our people and the country will grow a lot,” said Mirwais Hajizadeh, a member of the private sector.
However, economic experts stated if the work of these projects does not start soon, they will be destroyed and the investments made in them will be wasted.
Ten people have been killed and six others injured by floods in Helmand province in the past week, local officials said on Friday.
According to officials, seven of those were members of the same family, and they were killed in Kajaki district last night.
“Most of the people moved from vulnerable areas to high lands and mountains, and thanks Allah the number of casualties is low,” Sher Mohammad Vahdat, the head of information of the Directorate of Information and Culture in Helmand, said adding rescue teams and security forces have been dispatched to help people.
It is said that the telecommunication system has also been disrupted due to the effect of floods in Kajaki district. Floods have also destroyed thousands of acres of agricultural land.
Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi and discussed issues related to Afghanistan, it was announced on Thursday.
During the meeting, Otunbayeva thanked India for “its critical humanitarian support and longstanding friendship for the Afghan people” and discussed the importance of regional and international cooperation to address prevailing challenges in Afghanistan, UNAMA said on X.
Jaishankar also said on X that the sides exchanged views on the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Underlined that India has provided wheat, medicines, pesticides and school supplies. Appreciate the role of UN agencies as partners in these endeavors,” he said.
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