'Who will benefit if Afghanistan is ruined?': Prez Ashraf Ghani to Taliban amid US pullout

As the United States is withdrawing its forces from Afghanistan, the geopolitical situation has become more volatile in the Asian continent. The Taliban, which aims to overthrow the democratically elected Afghanistan Government, has claimed that it has 85% of Afghanistan's territory under its control, although it cannot be independently verified. 

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday accused the Taliban of the ongoing violence in the country in which at least 200 to 600 people are killed every day.

According to Tolo news - an Afghanistan media outlet, Ghani addressed a gathering in Khost province on Saturday and asked the nation to stay united in support for independence, the republic and coexistence.

“Taliban should be asked whom they are fighting for? Who will benefit if Afghanistan is ruined and if Afghans are killed?” Ghani said according to Tolo News.

In an ambiguous statement, Ghani also stated that the Taliban should not accept the Durand Line as the official border line between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as wanted by Pakistan. The Durand Line is the 2,670 km (1,660 mi) international land border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia.

Addressing a program on Thursday on the mineral’s week, Ghani said that following the US troop withdrawal announcement Afghanistan has faced problems. But he was confident that the problems will be resolved. According to Ghani, Afghans have a strong will to build their country. "We proposed peace, whoever rejects peace proposal are rebels, without any doubt," said Ghani.

Evolving geopolitical situation

There are a lot of stakeholders in the volatile geopolitical arena that Afghanistan has become with the US troops pull out. There is of course the Afghanistan government which wants democracy and peace to prevail in the war-torn country, while the Taliban aims to usurp the Afghanistan government and claim control of the country to establish an Islamic political system and make it an Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

It is pertinent to see how Pakistan moves ahead with the evolving situation in Afghanistan. Moreover, China which has a lot of stake in its highly ambitious Belt and Road initiative is sure to make its move to safeguard its interest in the evolving situation. It is also pertinent to see how the Indian Government reacts to the evolving situation as India has always backed the Afghanistan Government and also assisted in the development projects in Afghanistan. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already begun talks with stakeholders such as Russia and the US, regarding the political situation arising out of Afghanistan.