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Blinken tells House Committee no decision yet on troops withdrawal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Washington has not completed its review on troop posture in Afghanistan but that it is also focusing on diplomatic efforts to get the Afghan government and the Taliban to engage in negotiations.
Addressing a House Committee on Foreign Affairs session on Wednesday, Blinken said he does not want to “prejudge the outcome of that review” as there hasn’t been any decision made yet on troops when it comes to May 1st deadline.
But he said US President Joe Biden’s “goal is very clear.”
He said: “It’s to end the conflict, bring our troops home and to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorism and an ongoing threat to the United States.”
“We're engaged in a diplomatic effort right now to try to drive the two parties to negotiate and to move forward on commitment that the Taliban made to the United States a year ago to negotiate meaningfully on a peaceful future for Afghanistan.”
He told House representatives that Washington is also “enlisting other countries, [and] the United Nations, in that effort”.
This is being done in the hope of driving the two parties to negotiate and to put in place agreements that would be the foundation for a just and durable peace in Afghanistan.
“And that, of course, is a very tall order but one that we’re working on,” he said.
Blinken stated that many of Afghanistan’s neighbors have a “real stake” in the country’s future and that diplomatic efforts on the part of the US are ongoing.
He said that “neighboring countries have a huge stake in Afghanistan not being a terrain for civil war that spills over the borders. And they have influence with various parties. So we’re engaging them.”
He said the Biden administration wants “to see where this [diplomatic] effort goes to actually get the parties to engage in a meaningful way.
“The Taliban made other commitments when it comes to reducing violence; when it comes to not harboring and supporting terrorists; we want to see them make good on those obligations,” he said.
Eleven people have been killed in a shooting at a shrine in Afghanistan’s northern Baghlan province, local sources said on Friday.
The incident took place at 9 pm on Thursday at the shrine of Sayed Padsha Jan in Shahr-e-Kuhna of Nahrin district.
A local resident said the dead were residents of Nahrin district and wanted to spend the night at the shrine.
Asadullah Mustafa Hashemi, the provincial information and culture director, confirmed the incident but did not provide details on how it happened or the number of casualties.
Provincial police spokesman said they had not received any information about the incident yet.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Serdar Muhammetdurdiyev on Thursday met with Chinese special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, the Foreign Ministry of Turkmenistan announced.
During the meeting, the sides discussed priority vectors of strategic interstate cooperation built on a long-term, mutually beneficial basis, as well as exchanged views on the implementation of previously reached agreements.
It was noted that personal contacts between the leaders of the two countries play a key role in intensifying the interstate dialogue, which give a strong impulse to further development and expansion of Turkmen-Chinese ties.
It was emphasized that Turkmenistan considers multilateral international platforms for maintaining stability in Afghanistan as an important factor in promoting sustainable improvement of socio-economic state of the neighboring country. The sides exchanged views on the preparations to the 5th meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan's Neighboring States to be held in Turkmenistan.
The interlocutors reaffirmed that Turkmenistan and China will continue to provide all-round support for the economic restoration of Afghanistan.
The U.S. House Of Representatives has passed a legislation on evacuation of Afghans who assisted Americans during the 20-year war in Afghanistan.
“The passage of the CARE Authorization Act of 2024 further underscores the commitment made by the U.S. government to safeguard those who served shoulder-to-shoulder with our personnel during the twenty-year mission in Afghanistan,” Congresswoman Dina Titus said in a statement.
“The State Department has made it clear: There is no deadline for the crucial job of protecting Afghan allies. By authorizing the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts at the State Department, we can more effectively relocate and resettle those who have qualified to immigrate to the U.S. as a result of their service to this country.”
In 2022 the State Department established a specialized office called the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) to streamline and coordinate the ongoing relocation and resettlement process for eligible Afghans from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the United States.
The CARE Authorization Act of 2024 will formally authorize the CARE office at the State Department for three years and grant important authorities to advance its mission. These include an extension of authorities to enter into personal services contracts as well as measures to streamline the transfer of funds to and from other agencies involved in the Afghan relocation mission.
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