Taliban, Apparently Preparing for Takeover, Vows Safety for Foreign Diplomats
Frances Martel
26 May 2021
A spokesman for the Taliban jihadist organization issued a statement Wednesday assuring diplomats from foreign countries that the Taliban does not “pose any threats to them” and encouraging them not to vacate Afghanistan.
The statement followed an announcement from the government of Australia that it planned to shut down its embassy in Kabul in anticipation of the full withdrawal of American and NATO forces from the country. President Donald Trump negotiated an agreement with the Taliban, and including the legitimate government of Afghanistan, in which American forces would vacate the country by May 1, 2021, in exchange for the Taliban agreeing not to attack American forces and to cut ties with al-Qaeda and other foreign terrorist groups. President Joe Biden broke the agreement, maintaining a prolonged presence in the country, but has promised all troops will leave by September 11 of this year.
The Taliban does not consider the government of Afghanistan legitimate and instead considers itself the Afghan government, referring to itself as the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.” American political observers who oppose the U.S. withdrawal from the country have long expressed concern that the Afghan government, and particularly its security forces, are too weak to fight off an attempted Taliban takeover without the presence of American forces there. The Taliban’s overtures to foreign governments may be a sign that it sees itself as soon being in a position to conduct diplomacy on behalf of the country.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan assures all foreign diplomats and staff of humanitarian organizations that (we) will not pose any threats to them,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said Wednesday in a statement to the Agence France-Presse (AFP). The statement appeared to be a response to Australian officials shutting down their Kabul embassy, explicitly referencing concerns for the security of diplomats.
more
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2021/05/26/taliban-apparently-preparing-takeover-vows-safety-foreign-diplomats/
