Masoud Andarabi, Afghan Interior Minister warns against the speedy withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan on Saturday, he claimed that the Taliban have not yet cut their ties with Al-Qaeda and the hasty withdrawal will further persuade the insurgency and will worsen global counterterrorism incessant efforts.
Andarabi in an interview with The Associated Press said that Afghan defense forces backed by U.S support have maintained to put pressures on various terrorist groups in Afghanistan including Daesh.
Andarabi during his interview confidently expressed that following the U.S troops withdrawal Afghan national defense and security forces can hold their ground but would still require aid and air support to maintain the outposts and checkpoints.
“The Afghan security forces are fully capable of defending the capital and the cities and the territories that we are present in right now,” AP quoted Andarabi.
The Interior Minister added, “we think that the Afghan security forces this year have proven to the Taliban that they will not be able to gain territory”.
Following the U.S-Taliban deal in Qatar, Afghanistan and its people hoped for a serenity, instead the violence spiked and raged crueler than ever.
In regards to complaints about rampant Kabul crimes, Andarabi added that 70 percent of ANP members are busy fighting the Taliban and eroded most of the attention from maintaining law and order.
According to Andarabi Afghan National Police has to face and confront approximately 100 Taliban offensives across the country, besides such harsh conditions law and order forces managed to have 400 arrests in the past month.
He reiterated that Afghanistan still is in need of continued support from the international community including NATO and the United States both during the war and the peace.
According to Andarabi, more work needs to be done to reintegrate tens and thousands of men, armed men, in various parts of the country into a peacetime society, regardless of which faction they belong to.
Andarabi also pointed out that police are facing intimidating fight against narcotics in Afghanistan which produces more than 4,000 tons of opium, massively produced more than the combination of other opium-producing country.
He said that peace will provide the opportunity to the Afghan police to fight the illegal production of drugs in the country that is also fueling criminal activities.
The Interior Ministry of Afghanistan warned of the hasty, unplanned withdrawal just seven weeks before the May 1st deadline.
Washington has not yet finalized their decision on troops pullout from war-torn Afghanistan.
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