KABUL (Pajhwok): A future Afghan government will have to meet global standards for basic human rights and legal protections if it wants to continue receiving assistance from the US.
A top American diplomat said in an interview on Thursday that Afghanistan would need to maintain a commitment to the principle of equality before the law and the rule of law.
“I know from discussions with many of my fellow ambassadors that many other governments feel equally strongly about the importance of a future Afghan government protecting basic rights,” Ambassador John Bass said.
He told Radio Free Europe (TFE) that other nations would take decisions on their future support for Afghanistan depending on whether those rights were respected.
Despite some progress in US-Taliban.
A little bit of progress had been made on issues related to addressing US apprehensions about Afghanistan being a source of threats and terrorism against Washington, he added.
“But, unfortunately, we didn’t make much progress on some other aspects. There has not been progress to address the Afghan people’s desire, which we very much support, to see a reduction in violence or a ceasefire.
“And we have yet to see the Taliban seriously engage and sit with the Afghan government and the wider society to address those issues that only Afghans can decide among themselves.”
He hoped for a strong Afghan-US relationship even after an end to the war. He claimed helping the Afghan economy to grow and creating educational and skills development opportunities for many Afghans.
“We would like to continue that work but, of course, how much of that work we can do beyond humanitarian assistance, will depend on the terms of the settlement and the willingness of the Taliban to rejoin society…”
Bass said his country believed strongly that a durable settlement to the conflict must be arrived at among the Afghans. It was more important what Afghans thought about these issues than what the US government did, he explained.
He said the US had preferred to provide financial support and technical advice on the conduct of the upcoming presidential elections. He noted some decisions by the electoral commission indicating the probability of the vote happening on time.
PAN Monitor/mud
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