.@nytopinion has printed an op-ed by Siraj Haqqani. For anyone who has lived in, covered, or otherwise cared about Afghanistan and Pakistan, that alone is extraordinary. nytimes.com/2020/02/20/opi…
This line is perhaps the most important: “We are about to sign an agreement with the United States and we are fully committed to carrying out its every single provision, in letter and spirit.”
But this line will alarm many in US: “We are aware of concerns...of Afghanistan being used by disruptive groups...These concerns are inflated: Reports about foreign groups in Afghanistan are politically motivated exaggerations by the warmongering players on all sides of the war”
The US’ first priority has been to get the Taliban to commit they will not allow any al Qaeda or ISIS presence, fundraising, or training on any part of territory they control.
Don’t miss this line as well: “My fellow Afghans will soon celebrate this historic agreement. Once it is entirely fulfilled, Afghans will see the departure of all foreign troops.”
And this: “liberated from foreign domination and interference, we together will find a way to build an Islamic system in which all Afghans have equal rights, where the rights of women that are granted by Islam — from the right to education to the right to work — are protected”
