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world news Diasabra 20 Maart 2021

Taliban expect US withdrawal, vow to restore Islamic rule

(AP) — The Taliban have not attacked U.S. or They have said they would
warned Washington on NATO forces, even as un- not accept a woman as presi-
Friday against defying a claimed bombings and tar- dent, and while women could
May 1 deadline for the geted killings have spiked in be judges they could not take
withdrawal of American recent months. the job of the Chief Justice.
and NATO troops from
Afghanistan, promising "We hope that this will not But even without the Tal-
a "reaction," which could happen, that they withdraw iban in government in Af-
mean increased attacks by and we focus on the settle- ghanistan, The Georgetown
the insurgent group. ment, peaceful settlement of Institute for Women, Peace
the Afghan issue, in order to and Security Afghanistan said
The Taliban issued their bring about a permanent and Afghanistan was one of the
warning at a press confer- comprehensive ceasefire at worst places in the world to
ence in Moscow, the day after the end of reaching a political be a woman in 2020.
meeting with senior Afghan roadmap (for) Afghanistan,"
government negotiators and Shaheen said. Only one woman attended
international observers to try Thursday's talks in Moscow,
to jumpstart a stalled peace He also reaffirmed that the and in the two decades since Osama bin Laden who was talks, Russia, the U.S., China
process to end Afghanistan's Taliban were firm on their the Taliban were ousted, suc- based in Taliban-ruled Af- and Pakistan called on the
decades of war. demand for an Islamic gov- cessive governments in Ka- ghanistan. The invasion top- warring parties to reduce the
ernment. Shaheen didn't bul have been unable to rat- pled the Taliban regime but level of violence in the coun-
President Joe Biden's admin- elaborate on what an Islamic ify a law outlawing violence the 20-year-war has made Af- try — and specifically urged
istration says it is reviewing an government would look like against women. ghanistan America's longest the Taliban not to pursue a
agreement the Taliban signed or whether it would mean conflict. spring offensive.
with the Trump administra- a return to their repressive Meanwhile, the Taliban re-
tion. Biden told ABC in an rules that denied girls edu- fused to promise they would The Taliban, who during The joint statement empha-
interview Wednesday that the cation, barred women from not launch a spring offensive their rule imposed a harsh sized that the four countries
May 1 deadline "could hap- working, and imposed harsh despite calls from the United brand of Islam, now control do not support the restora-
pen, but it is tough," adding punishments. States, Russia and China. about half of the country. tion of an Islamic emirate in
that if the deadline is extend- U.S. Secretary of State Ant- Afghanistan similar to the
ed it won't be by "a lot lon- Shaheen did not say wheth- "I started Jihad (holy war) to ony Blinken has warned that Taliban's past rule.
ger." er the Taliban would accept remove foreign forces from the insurgents could make
elections, but he emphasized my country and establish an even more gains without Shaheen emphasized that the
"They should go," Suhail that the government of Presi- Islamic government and Jihad U.S. and NATO troops on Taliban would stick to the
Shaheen, a member of the dent Ashraf Ghani would not will continue until we reach the ground. goal of building an Islamic
Taliban negotiation team, fit their definition of an Is- that goal through a political state. He argued that the
told reporters, warning that lamic government. agreement," said Khairullah The Moscow conference was Afghans themselves should
staying beyond May 1 would Khairkhwa, a member of the attended by U.S. peace envoy determine their government
breach the deal. "After that, In previous statements, the negotiating team, who was Zalmay Khalilzad, Abdullah order without outside med-
it will be a kind of violation Taliban have said their vision one of five Taliban freed from Abdullah, head of Afghani- dling. He added that the talks
of the agreement. That viola- of an Islamic government U.S. prison on Guantanamo stan's National Reconcili- in Doha should help deter-
tion would not be from our would allow girls to attend Bay in 2013 in exchange for ation Council, and Taliban mine the future governance
side. . . Their violation will school, and women to work the release of a captured U.S. co-founder Mullah Abdul structure.
have a reaction." or be in public life. But in soldier. Ghani Baradar, who led a
every conversation, they em- 10-member delegation. Rep- The talks in Qatar between
He did not elaborate on what phasized the need to follow Washington has been at war resentatives of Pakistan, Iran, the Afghan government and
form the "reaction" would Islamic injunctions without in Afghanistan for nearly two India and China also partici- the Taliban have stalled, but
take, but in keeping with the specifying what that would decades, since the Sept. 11, pated. Russia voiced hope that the
agreement they signed in mean. 2001 terrorist attacks master- talks in Moscow could help
February 2020, the Taliban minded by al-Qaida leader In a statement issued after the reinvigorate them.

China says 'strong smell of gunpowder' sensed in US talks

(AP) — China said Friday a "strong smell of domestic policies. briefing.
gunpowder and drama" resulted from talks At the Alaska meeting, Blinken affirmed U.S. soli-
with top American diplomats in Alaska, con- Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese darity with its allies in pushing back against China's
tinuing the contentious tone of the first face- Communist Party foreign affairs chief Yang Jie- increasing efforts to spread its authoritarian mode
to-face meetings under the Biden administra- chi took aim at each other's country's policies on of government through political and economic
tion. Thursday in their meeting in Anchorage. pressure. Yang responded with a list of Chinese
complaints, accusing Washington of hypocrisy for
Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, speak- Zhao accused the U.S. side of overrunning the criticizing Beijing on human rights and other is-
ing in Beijing, said American officials at the Alaska agreed time for opening remarks, prompting the sues at a time when the United States itself has
meetings had provoked Chinese officials into mak- sharp response from the Chinese delegation. The been roiled by domestic discontent.
ing a "solemn response" after U.S. officials made meetings, set to continue Friday, come amid dis-
"groundless attacks" against Chinese foreign and putes over trade, technology, human rights and Blinken said China's actions threaten the rules-
China's territorial claims to Taiwan and islands based order that maintains global stability, and thus
in the South China and East China seas. China the U.S. was obligated to raise them publicly. Yang
has also strongly objected to U.S. calls for greater responded by accusing the U.S. of failing to deal
transparency about the origins of the coronavirus with its own human rights problems and took is-
pandemic, the first cases of which were recorded sue with what he said was "condescension" from
in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. Blinken, Sullivan and other U.S. officials.
"It was the U.S. side that ... provoked the dispute in The State Department also accused the Chinese
the first place, so the two sides had a strong smell of delegation of exceeding the time limit for open-
gunpowder and drama from the beginning in the ing statements and suggested it seemed "intent on
opening remarks. It was not the original intention grandstanding, focused on public theatrics and dra-
of the Chinese side," Zhao told reporters at a daily matics over substance."