(MENAFN- Afghanistan Times) AT News
KABUL: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that if the Taliban insisted on violence and tried to impose a ''dictatorial regime'', the decision would be made on the battlefield.
In an interview with the PBS News Hour, Ghani said that if the Taliban wants peace, then it has to be peace that respects the gains of the citizens of Afghanistan and among them, first and foremost, women.
He once again assured that the Afghan security forces are ready to protect the country after the international troop withdrawal.
This comes as the National Security Adviser, Hamdullah Mohib said earlier that Afghanistan preferred the presence of the international troops for a few more years.
But Ghani noted termed the U.S. withdrawal as a strategic decision ''that clarifies a lot of things.''
''The war will become simpler, because their — all their allegations of international conspiracy or international desire to stay permanently, et cetera, has now come to an end. We need to work together,'' he said. He also stated that countries in the region are glad the U.S. has no intentions of staying longer.
''Consequently, we need to get together to arrive at a collective security strategy,'' Ghani added.
He denied the reports that the Taliban control a mass part of Afghanistan. However, the armed conflicts has been intensified across the country with the government and Taliban forces engaged into severe clashes, Ghani said that the Taliban are carrying out 'sporadic attacks'' that are a ''destructive force''.
''Arghandab was the only district in Kandahar where they tried to hold. And now the people hate them with passion,'' he said.
The U.S. President Joe Biden announced earlier that all U.S. troop would be withdrawn by September 11, without considering any condition. The U.S. and International Forces are on track to exit Afghanistan amid an unabated level of violence ragging across the country.
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