In the latest development, the Afghan Taliban have warned NATO troops who remain in Afghanistan after the September 11 withdrawal deadline will be treated as ‘occupying forces’ as they continue their sweep across the country. The latest warning is in line with the policy being carried out by the Taliban: no American soldier is being targeted.
QATAR: The Afghan Taliban said that any foreign troops left in Afghanistan after NATO's September withdrawal deadline will be at risk as occupiers.#Pakistan #Afghanistan #AfghanPeaceProcess #Taliban https://t.co/lWJHlRWM2w
— Raja Furqan Ahmed (@furqanraja1122) July 5, 2021
The last US troops are expected to leave within days but reports say that 1,000-strong force could remain on the ground to protect diplomatic missions and Kabul’s airport.
They could be joined by an ‘advisory group’ of British Special Forces soldiers amid fears that the country could ‘implode’ to the Taliban at any moment.
Interestingly, the American troops have left their main military base in Afghanistan. On the other hand, China has started preparing to enter the war-torn country to fill the vacuum left by U.S. and NATO troops.
According to Daily Mail, authorities in Kabul are considering extending a $62 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
First launched in 2013 by Chinese president Xi Jinping, and written into the Chinese constitution in 2017, it is billed by Beijing officials as a global infrastructure development fund which aims to better connect China to the rest of the world.
Taliban warn neighbors to remain impartial
CNN-News18 Security Affairs Editor Manoj Gupta spoke to Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, member of the Taliban negotiating team and spokesman of the political office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), who outlined the outlook for the trouble-torn nation, how his side expects to usher in peace, and the contours of relations with India and Pakistan.
When asked: “many people in India see the Taliban as influenced by Pakistan, who will do whatever Pakistan asks to do. How much will your policy on India be your own and how much of it will be what Pakistan asks?”
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He replied that India should remain impartial. “As far as the ground realities in Afghanistan are concerned, the Indians are living almost in a vacuum. Furthermore, they look at us from their angle of discrimination, bias and hostility. This is their origin of perception about us but it has not served them in the long run. They are siding with a foreign-installed government in Kabul which is killing its own people to stay in power. India should remain at least impartial in the Afghan issue, rather than supporting an occupation-born government,” he said.