Taliban warns US of consequences if deadline for troop withdrawal is extended

Doha/Washington: “President Biden had announced that he would completely withdraw from Afghanistan by August 31. It is the red line for the United States. But if US and UK troops remain in Afghanistan beyond that deadline, both countries will have to face serious consequences,” Taliban Spokesman Suhail Shaheen said. The US has indicated that it is unlikely to evacuate all American citizens from Afghanistan until August 31 and that it will take more time. Nevertheless, the Taliban has mounted pressure on the Biden administration by announcing that the United States will not receive permission for it. It could further intensify the accusations against the Biden administration that it had surrendered to the Taliban.

deadline More than 15,000 US citizens are stranded in Afghanistan. The United States has claimed nearly 10,000 of them were deported from Afghanistan. However, the Biden administration and the Pentagon are unwilling to guarantee the return of the remaining civilians. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said two days ago that he could not provide security to US citizens till they reach the Kabul airport.

Reports state that French special forces are arriving at the airport from Kabul securely with Afghans and their citizens. In such a scenario, the Biden administration is being criticized for not being able to evacuate its citizens safely. Even UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called on the US President to work for an extension, saying that a withdrawal was not possible until August 31.

Taliban spokesman Shaheen has clearly said the United States and its Western allies would not receive an extension. ‘The United States set the August 31 deadline. If US troops are seen in Afghanistan after the deadline, it would not be tolerated,’ the spokesman warned. The threat has put the Biden administration in a fix.

President Biden’s leadership was criticized earlier for his decision to pull out troops hastily from Afghanistan. ‘Biden has given rise to a debacle in Afghanistan with the US withdrawal, and it will go down as one of the greatest embarrassments and the greatest foreign policy humiliation in the history of the US. With it, Biden has demonstrated his gross incompetence,’ former US President Donald Trump accused. Also, former US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Nikki Haley slammed the Biden administration, saying the United States has completely surrendered to the Taliban militants.

Demands for the impeachment of President Biden have been mounting in the United States over the mishandling of Afghanistan withdrawal. Nevertheless, Col. Richard Kemp, a former British military officer, said, ‘Biden made the whole world very dangerous. He should not be impeached but court-martialed.’

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