US cautions Taliban, says world won't accept government imposed by force in Afghanistan
Jun 24, 2021
Washington [US], June 24 : Amid intelligence reports that the current government in Kabul could collapse within six months after the American withdrawal, the US on Tuesday cautioned the Taliban that the world will not accept a government imposed by force in Afghanistan.
At a news briefing in Washington, State Department spokesperson Ned Price also indicated that US financial assistance to Afghanistan could only continue if the country has a government that is recognised by all, reported Dawn.
"The world will not accept the imposition by force of a government in Afghanistan," said Price while referring to media reports about Taliban victories against the Kabul government. "You've heard this from Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad; you've heard this from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and from others."
Earlier at the briefing, a journalist reminded Price that the terrorists have expanded their control over Afghanistan to more than 50 districts since President Joe Biden announced his plan to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan by September 11, reported Dawn.
"Legitimacy and assistance for any Afghan government can only be possible if that government has respect for human rights if that government has credibility if that government has legitimacy, including in the eyes of its own people," Price said.
According to the World Bank, Afghanistan's structural trade deficit, equal to around 30 per cent of GDP, is financed almost entirely from grant inflows. Grants continue to finance around 75 per cent of public spending. Security expenditures too were high at around 28 per cent of GDP in 2019, reported Dawn.
The United States is the biggest aid donor, spending USD 35.5 billion last year, followed by Germany (USD 28.4 billion), Britain (USD 18.6 billion), Japan (USD 16.3 billion) and France (USD 14.1 billion).
Citing The Wall Street Journal, Dawn reported on Wednesday that the US intelligence community had informed the Biden administration that the government of Afghanistan "could collapse as soon as six months after the American military withdrawal" from the country.
"American intelligence agencies revised their previously more optimistic estimates as the Taliban swept through northern Afghanistan last week, seizing dozens of districts and surrounding major cities," WSJ reported.
