NEW YORK: United States Republican Senator Lindsey Graham today (Tuesday) criticized Biden administration for ignoring Pakistan amid troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, terming it a disaster.
“How do we expect our withdrawal from Afghanistan to be effective without coordinating with Pakistan?,” he asked the Biden administration in a Tweet today (Tuesday). “Clearly the Biden Administration believes that our problems in Afghanistan are behind us,” he added.
How do we expect our withdrawal from Afghanistan to be effective without coordinating with Pakistan? Clearly the Biden Administration believes that our problems in Afghanistan are behind us.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 22, 2021
In another tweet, the US Senator wrote, “Stunning to hear that President Biden hasn’t reached out to the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan regarding the US-Pakistan relationship and Afghanistan.”
“I believe that this decision by the Biden Administration to withdraw all forces and not stay engaged with Pakistan is a major disaster in the making, even worse than the blunder in Iraq,” he added.
Taliban take key Afghan district
The Taliban today (Tuesday) captured Afghanistan’s main border crossing with Tajikistan, with security forces abandoning their posts and some fleeing across the frontier.
Kunduz provincial council member Khaliddin Hakmi, in a statement, said, “Unfortunately this morning and after an hour of fighting the Taliban captured Shir Khan port and the town and all the border check posts with Tajikistan.”
An army officer told an international news agency, “We were forced to leave all check posts and some of our soldiers crossed the border into Tajikistan. By the morning, Taliban fighters were everywhere, hundreds of them.” Amruddin Wali, another provincial council member, said officials “lost contact” with the area on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the insurgents had seized the crossing. “Our Mujahideen are in full control of Shir Khan Bandar and all the border crossings with Tajikistan in Kunduz,” he told the agency.
Since the United States announced plans in April to withdraw its troops with no conditions by Sept. 11 after nearly 20 years of conflict, violence has escalated throughout the country as the Taliban seeks more territory.
Peace talks in Doha have largely stalled, officials say, though there have been meetings in recent days and the Taliban say they are committed to talks.
