Afghan govt's fall was ingrained in 2020 Doha peace deal, says US General Frank McKenzie

US General Frank McKenzie, the head of Central Command told the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday that the fall of the former government in Afghanistan was ingrained in the 2020 Doha peace deal between the Taliban and the ex-US President Donald Trump administration. The top commander of American forces in the Mideast told the committee that the signing of the Doha agreement had a “really pernicious effect” on the government before it collapsed in the face of the Taliban, who are the new rulers of the country which is renamed as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 

"The signing of the Doha agreement had a really pernicious effect on the government of Afghanistan and on its military - psychological more than anything else, but we set a date-certain for when we were going to leave and when they could expect all assistance to end," McKenzie said.

He added, "Once the US troop presence was pushed below 2,500 as part of Washington's bid to complete a total withdrawal by the end of August, the unravelling of the US-backed Afghan government accelerated."

Mckenzie was referring to a February 29, 2020 agreement that the Trump administration reached with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar following months of negotiations. Under the deal, the United States promised a complete withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan by May 2021 and the Taliban also agreed to a range of conditions including ceasing attacks on US coalition forces. This objective was to further elevate the peace negotiation between the Taliban and the former Afghan government of Ashraf Ghani. 

However, the diplomatic efforts to enhance Taliban-Afghanistan government talks failed significantly before former US President Donald Trump was replaced by his successor Joe Biden. While Biden was criticised for the ‘chaotic’ withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan, the US President has appeared to place the blame on Trump over the deal that the Biden administration was handed over with. However, Trump has repeatedly claimed that it would have been different if he were a president. 

Taliban say it’s 'useless' to continue former Afghan govt

Meanwhile, amid the ongoing crisis in the war-torn country, the Taliban on 29 September claimed that it was "useless" to continue the former government of Afghanistan, reported Tolo News. A member of the Cultural Commission of the Taliban Information and Cultural Ministry, Anaamullah Samangai said the efforts to keep the former government of Afghanistan was useless. He added that there “will be no opportunity” for opportunistic people to “deceive” the global community. 

"Now there is and will be no opportunity for such opportunistic people to deceive the international community from the address of Afghanistan and the people of Afghanistan," said Samangani as per Tolo News.

IMAGE: AP