Taliban issue veiled threat in response to new drawdown plan

The Taliban said on Thursday the US decision to pull out of Afghanistan starting May 1 is in violation of the agreement signed between the two parties in Doha last year an in turn issued a veiled threat to foreign forces.

The Taliban said in a statement that the agreement was that all troops would be out of Afghanistan by the end of April and that US President Joe Biden’s decision to delay the withdrawal “is a clear violation of the Doha Agreement and non-compliance with its commitments.”

Because of the extended stay in Afghanistan, the Taliban said it would “take every necessary countermeasure, hence the American side will be held responsible for all future consequences.”

On Wednesday night Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg both officially announced the full withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan starting May 1 and ending by September 11 – the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

But the Taliban noted their dissatisfaction over the decision and called on foreign stakeholders to put pressure on the US to exit Afghanistan within the next two weeks.

“As this agreement was signed in the presence of United Nations and representatives of numerous world countries and organizations, and is currently being breached by America, it is imperative that all countries and organizations that were witnesses to the signing of this agreement exert pressure on America to implement its commitments and withdraw all forces from Afghanistan by the specified date,” read the statement.

The Taliban stated that the US has breached the agreement regarding the release of the remaining 6,000 prisoners within three months of the start to intra-Afghan negotiations, and through their failure to remove the group’s name from the UN blacklist.

The Taliban also accused the US of having carried out “over 1,200 violations”.

The group stated “delaying the withdrawal date of forces by several months, all makes evident to the world that America cannot be trusted nor is it committed to its pledges and promises.”

The group claimed it has adhered to stipulation in the agreement and “considered it the sole solution to the conflict”.

“Now as the agreement is being breached by America, it in principle opens the way for the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate to take every necessary countermeasure, hence the American side will be held responsible for all future consequences, and not the Islamic Emirate,” the statement read.

The Taliban urged the US and NATO alliance countries to immediately withdraw their troops and stated it “will under no circumstance ever relent on complete independence and establishment of a pure Islamic system, and remains committed to finding a peaceful solution to the Afghan problem following the complete and certain end of occupation.”