US not abandoning Afghanistan: State Department

KABUL (Pajhwok): The United States says it is not going to abandon Afghanistan, pledging continued assistance to the war-torn country.

“We want the future of Afghanistan to be in the hands of the people of Afghanistan. We are not abandoning Afghanistan,” a State Department spokesman said.

Briefing journalists in London on Friday, Zed Tarar promised the Biden administration would work towards a better future for the Afghans.

“It is not a military solution. Our diplomatic assistance to Afghanistan will continue,” he said, renewing America’s call for a negotiated settlement to the conflict.

The US official hoped Pakistan would play a positive role in de-escalating the ongoing violence in Afghanistan. “It is not in Pakistan’s interest to see Afghanistan in a civil war.”

Both President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken believed a civil war in Afghanistan was not in anyone’s interest in the region, Tarar added.

PAN Monitor/mud