Afghanistan Peace CampaignHe emphasized that this decision would be made based on the future approach of the United States toward Afghanistan’s caretaker government.
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, asked in a hearing if the “Taliban” were considered a foreign terrorist group, stated Washington is reviewing the status of the “Taliban.”
He emphasized that this decision would be made based on the future approach of the United States toward Afghanistan’s caretaker government.
Rubio said: “I believe that classification is now once again under review. As you know, we’ve had some success over the last few weeks in getting some Americans that were detained released, but we’ll have some decisions to make. That designation ultimately will be based on a holistic approach to what we think our future policy is going to be with regards to Afghanistan.”
The approach of Donald Trump regarding an agreement with the caretaker government on counter-terrorism was another topic Rubio referred to before US lawmakers.
He also attributed the absence of American diplomats in Kabul to security concerns and added that Donald Trump is closely following the situation in Afghanistan.
Rubio said: “The president is keenly aware of the situation there. He was very involved in negotiating in his first presidency for a deal that kept Americans safe and I think he’s interested in arriving at one again to ensure Afghanistan never becomes a launchpad for external, external operations against Americans anywhere in the world, especially the homeland.”
In response to these remarks, the caretaker government of Afghanistan has not yet commented. However, previously the acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi emphasized the need for the US to understand Afghanistan’s current realities and engage with Kabul.
“Confrontation is not a solution; we have seen the confrontation with the US and also with Russia. It is in the interest of both parties to abandon confrontations,” said Gulmuhammaduddin Mohammadi, a political analyst.
Despite the visit of the US delegation to Kabul and the exchange of prisoners between the two sides—which raised optimism about improving relations—no progress has been achieved so far.