Afghan leader seeks Biden’s help to fight terrorism
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday called on US Presidentelect Joe Biden to “help fight terrorism” and support Afghanistan’s shaky peace process by ensuring continued aid to Kabul. The plea comes after Afghan lawmakers urged the new US leader to review the Trump-led campaign to force a complete withdrawal of American troops from the country. “Afghanistan looks forward to continuing and deepening our multilayered strategic partnership with the US — our foundational partner — including in counterterrorism m and bringing peace to Afghanistan,” Ghani said in a statement, congratulating Biden and nd Vice President-elect Kamala mala Harris on their election n victory. Ties between en Ghani and US President dent Donald Trump’s administration dministration turned sour in recent months over Kabul’s abul’s exclusion from crucial behind-thedoor talks between Washington and the Taliban, which ultimately led to the signing of a historic peace deal in February this year.
Under pressure from Trump’s administration, Ghani freed over 5,000 Taliban inmates since March, before sending negotiators to Doha, Qatar for intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban — a key criterion of the February accord, which also pushes for all foreign troops to leave Afghanistan by next spring.
A few weeks ago, to Kabul’s ire, Trump announced that the remaining US troops would return home by Christmas, much earlier than the timetable agreed with the Taliban. As per the deal with the US, the Taliban were required to halt attacks on foreign troops. US forces have mostly refrained from striking Taliban forces, except for a few instances where they aided Kabul in preventing militants from seizing government-held areas.