‘US not ‘walking away’ from region’

KABUL (Tolo News): NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a news conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on Tuesday said that NATO remains committed to its partnership with Afghanistan. “We will continue to help the Afghan people and contribute to the peace efforts, including with continued training and funding of the Afghan security forces,” Stoltenberg said.

As the US military carries out President Joe Biden’s order to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by September, the Pentagon insists the US commitment to the region is not wavering. “Just because we are removing our troops and ending our military mission in Afghanistan doesn’t mean that we’re walking away from the region,” Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. According to an AP report, last week Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of US Central Command, said negotiations with Afghanistan’s neighbors for overflight rights and troop basing are “moving forward” but will take time. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Pakistan’s chief of Army staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa. The Pentagon didn’t get specific about what the two military leaders discussed, other than to say they talked about “shared regional interests and objectives.”

“During the call, Secretary Austin reiterated his appreciation for Pakistan’s support for Afghanistan Peace Negotiations and expressed his desire to continue to build on the US – Pakistan bilateral relationship,” the Defense Department said. Commanders have said they will monitor threats from “over the horizon,” to ensure that terrorists cannot again use Afghanistan as a base to launch attacks against the US.

But they have acknowledged that the US does not yet have any agreements for basing or overflights from any of the neighboring countries. “There’s still going to be a robust United States presence in the Middle East, in the Central Command area of responsibility,” Kirby told reporters.