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U.S. Troops’ Reduction Won’t Affect Afghanistan’s Security: ARG
Following the reports of U.S. forces’ reduction from Afghanistan, the Presidential Palace on Friday said that the move would not affect the security in the war-weary country.
Fazl Fazly, a senior advisor to President Ashraf Ghani said that the Afghan government assumed full security responsibility at the end of 2014 after the departure of more than 100,000 U.S. troops from the country.
“Alarms raised about Afghanistan’s future in media were more rampant in Dec 2014. Most analysts believed that Afghanistan would collapse with the departure of more than 100,000 troops. But our brave defense & security forces proved these analysts wrong & defended the nation with great valor,” Fazly said in series of tweets.
He stressed that since the formation of the National Unity Government, the Afghan security forces have carried out the fight on the frontline and security of the entire country. “Despite the overwhelming war, our national armed and air forces have strengthened day by day and they will grow in strength even more,” Fazly said.
The official noted that the reduction of the few thousand foreign forces-that are engaged to advise , train and assist the Afghan military forces – will not affect the security in Afghanistan.
“If the few thousand foreign troops that advise, train & assist, leave it will not affect our security, in the past four & half years our security is completely in the hands of Afghans and the final goal is that ANDSF will stand on their feet to protect & defend soil on their own,” Fazly tweeted.
It comes after The New York Times reported that the Trump administration has ordered the military to start withdrawing roughly 7,000 troops from Afghanistan in the coming months, a move that stunned many Afghan officials.
The announcement came hours after Jim Mattis, the U.S. secretary of defense, said that he would resign from his position at the end of February after disagreeing with the president over his approach to policy in the Middle East including surprise decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria.
The move to reduce U.S. military presence in Afghanistan from 14,000 to 7,000 troops comes Washington has recently stepped up diplomatic efforts to end the 17 years of war in Afghanistan. U.S. envoy for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has met the Taliban representatives at least three times after taking over the charge in September.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, has stated that following a special meeting of the High Commission for Addressing the Problems of Migrants, chaired by Sheikh Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the process of land distribution by the Permanent Committee for Refugee Settlement has been accelerated.
Fitrat said in a statement on Friday that so far, 3,046 plots of land have been distributed by the committee to refugees who were forcibly expelled and have recently returned to the country, across various provinces.
The distribution process continues for others as well, he added.
He stated the process of providing winter assistance to returning refugees in different provinces has also been accelerated. This aid includes food and non-food items as well as cash assistance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia supports a united, independent and peaceful Afghanistan and believes in strengthening regional stability, security and constructive engagement.
He made the remarks during a ceremony to receive the credentials of Gul Hassan Hassan, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to Moscow.
According to a statement from the Afghan Embassy in Russia, Putin referred in his speech to recent positive developments in Afghanistan and praised measures taken by the IEA to combat narcotics and ensure security.
Gul Hassan Hassan, the Ambassador of IEA to Moscow, formally presented his credentials to President Putin at an official ceremony held at the Kremlin Palace on Thursday.
Following the presentation of credentials, the two sides held a separate meeting in which Ambassador Hassan expressed appreciation for Putin’s remarks and conveyed messages from the Leader of the Islamic Emirate, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Both sides emphasized the need to expand bilateral relations and continue cooperation.
Badruddin Haqqani, the Ambassador of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to the United Arab Emirates, has met and held talks with a number of prominent Afghan elders and traders residing in the country.
According to a statement issued by the Afghan Embassy in the UAE on Friday, Afghan traders at the meeting described the Afghan Embassy as the shared home of all Afghans and said that supporting the governing system in the country is their Islamic and moral responsibility.
They also raised several commercial challenges and called on the Afghan Embassy to pay special attention to supporting the rights of Afghan workers and traders in the UAE.
Badruddin Haqqani said that serving Afghans residing in the country and defending their legitimate rights are among the embassy’s top priorities, emphasizing that comprehensive efforts will be made to create necessary facilities and address existing problems.
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