The Taliban will not allow the resurgence of any threat and danger to Uzbekistan from Afghanistan, said in an interview to Uzbekistan 24 TV channel during the inter-Afghan talks in Qatar on September 12, the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
He reportedly highly commended the constant efforts of the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to establish peace and stability on Afghan soil, and also welcomed the projects for the construction of the Mazar-i-Sharif-Kabul-Peshawar railway and the construction of the Surkhan-Poli-Khumri power transmission line.
“Many Uzbek experts are working in Afghanistan to implement these projects. Ensuring their safety is also an important issue. We will not lose sight of this and will focus our attention on this,” he noted.
On August 20, in the Afghan province of Balkh, an armed attack was made on representatives of the Sogdiana Trans enterprise (part of the Uzbekiston Airways), as a result of which an Uzbek national was wounded. The Uzbek authorities then requested to enhance the protection of Uzbek personnel in Afghanistan.
In late February, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement that calls for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and the start of an inter-Afghan dialogue. According to Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the move shows that the Taliban are the supporters of peace.
“We will, of course, perform the terms of the agreement. From this point of view, we can say that in the future we will not allow the resurgence of a threat and danger from Afghanistan to Uzbekistan or other Central Asian countries ... In the future, on Afghan soil, we will not allow the existence of radical groups and organizations, terrorist groups, ”said the head of the office Taliban in Doha.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said that the peace agreement also provides for the obligations of the American side.
“Washington must withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. As soon as the military leaves the country, we will turn Afghanistan into a peaceful and prosperous home, we will achieve stability in the country,” he said.
The peace agreement provides that the United States will reduce the number of troops in Afghanistan from 12 thousand to 8600 within 135 days, and then, if the Taliban refrain from violence, will continue to withdraw its forces and NATO forces for 14 months. In return, the Taliban should abandon the use of Afghan territory to attack the United States and other countries.
