India can have positive impact in Afghanistan: US official
INDIA as a key regional player and ally of the US and its history of investments in Afghanistan could have a positive impact on the future of the country now under Taliban control, the US state department spokesperson has said.
In an interview to PTI, Zed Tarar has said that the US now focus on working with 'like-minded partners and democracies', such as India, towards the next chapter of supporting the people of Afghanistan.
'India being a regional ally has a role to play; and the humanitarian role and previous investment role is one that could have a positive impact on the future of Afghanistan,' said Tarar, the London-based Hindi/ Urdu spokesperson for the US state department.
'India as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has a role to play. We are in close consultations in New York, New Delhi and Washington with India on this issue,' he said.
The US forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan ahead of the August 31 deadline.
On some of the international voices questioning the timing and manner of the withdrawal, Tarar was categorical that it was time for the US to end the war.
'I think what we have to be clear on is that the US had an objective in Afghanistan and that was to eliminate Al Qaeda. We've completed that objective as of many years ago. We've also trained hundreds of thousands of Afghan forces over the last 20 years at a cost of over a trillion dollars. This was the time now to end the war in Afghanistan and remove US and allied forces from the country,' he said.
‘As President Biden has said, there was never going to be a perfect time to do this. We were never going to have perfect conditions on the ground,' he said, adding that the US president was determined not to hand over the war to the next incumbent in the White House.
On the question of having to work with the Taliban in the future, the official said it was still early days as the US wants the Taliban to live up to its promises, also flagging the group's designation as a terror outfit under US law.