Taliban warns of 'consequences' if US delays troop withdrawal
Dr Suhail Shaheen said Taliban decided not to form a government in the presence of the US
KABUL (Web Desk) – Taliban spokesperson Dr Suhail Shaheen on Monday warned the US that there will be consequences if President Joe Biden delayed withdrawal of troops.
In an interview with American TV channel on Monday, he said: "It s a red line. President Biden announced that on August 31 they would withdraw all their military forces. So if they extend it that means they are extending occupation while there is no need for that."
The Taliban spokesperson said that the answer is no if the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations and there would be consequences.
"It will create mistrust between us. If they are intent on continuing the occupation it will provoke a reaction."
Dr Suhail Shaheen went on to say that the Taliban decided not to form a government in the presence of the US, adding that the cabinet would be announced once the US withdrawal completed.
The Taliban s victory ended two decades of war, as they took advantage of US President Joe Biden s decision to exit the country and end America s longest war.
Biden has insisted he wants to end the US military presence and the airlifts by August 31. But with the European Union and Britain saying it would be impossible to get everyone out by then, Biden is under pressure to extend the deadline.
Speaking at the White House on Sunday, Biden said talks were under way to explore the possibility of extending the deadline. He also acknowledged the tragic scenes at the airport, which have also included babies and children being passed to soldiers over razor-wire fences and men clinging to the outside of departing planes. But he said they were part of the cost of departure. "There is no way to evacuate this many people without pain and loss and heartbreaking images you see," he said.
Biden spoke after the Taliban, who have been holding talks with elders and politicians to set up a government, slammed the evacuation. "America, with all its power and facilities... has failed to bring order to the airport," Taliban official Amir Khan Mutaqi said. "There is peace and calm all over the country, but there is chaos only at Kabul airport."
In the streets of the capital, the Taliban have indeed enforced a calm of a kind, with their armed forces patrolling the streets and manning checkpoints. Visually, they have also been looking to stamp their authority, ensuring the tri-coloured national flag is replaced with their white banner.
At a roadside in Kabul at the weekend, young men sold Taliban flags, which bear in black text the Muslim proclamation of faith and the regime s formal name: "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan". "Our goal is to spread the flag of the Islamic Emirate throughout Afghanistan," said seller Ahmad Shakib, who studies economics at university.
