The survival of Afghanistan is in danger, Afghan chief peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah has warned, as foreign troops set to end its presence in a week time, creating a security vacuum in Afghanistan. 

“The truth is, today the survival, security, and unity of Afghanistan are in danger,” Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), was quoted as saying by TOLOnews. “There is no better way than peace.” The remark came during the sixth meeting of the leadership council of the HCNR. 

“With the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, the war has escalated,” Abdullah said, adding the Taliban has taken "advantage of the security vacuum" left by the withdrawing foreign forces. 

The warning from him came when most European countries have already completed their withdrawal, and the US is just days away from completing it, international agencies reported. However, NATO and the US stopped sharing their withdrawal pace publicly. 

The Taliban and the Afghan government are still engaged in peace talks in Doha, Qatar, though the former has intensified the war back home. Both sides accuse each other of not being serious in peace talks. 

“Unfortunately, the Taliban wasted time in the peace process over the months, and there was concern among the people that the Taliban had no intention or will to seek peace,” Abdullah said. “This concern is now growing day by day.” 

Earlier, Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of states, too, had said that they were assessing if the Taliban was at all interested in a negotiated settlement. The latter, on the other hand, said on Tuesday that the Afghan government wasn’t sincere about talks, accusing its team of leaking details to the media. 

“While we want peace, war is approaching the gates of the Afghan capital; I think a declaration of the full support of the elders is necessary,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by Ariana news during the Wednesday meeting.

Significantly, after sweeping many districts in the north, the insurgent group has already started capturing districts around Kabul in surrounding provinces. The Pentagon now estimates that the insurgent group controls around 84 districts of Afghanistan’s over 400 districts. Local media, however, tells a much higher count, of over 100 districts.  

Furthermore, Abdullah warned the Taliban is mistaken if they think of winning the war militarily. “It will cause the continuation of the war,” he warned.  
 

(SAM)