Taliban happy about withdrawal of Afghanistan’s non-NATO ally status
Kabul, Jul 7 (EFE) – The Taliban on Thursday welcomed the United States’ decision to revoke Afghanistan’s status as a major non-NATO ally (MNNA).
“We are also not happy under such name that because of them for two decades Afghans are decimated, suffered and endured problems,” the Taliban government’s deputy spokesperson Bilal Karimi told EFE.
The MNNA status was granted to Afghanistan by the US in 2012 to facilitate the acquisition of military equipment by the now-deposed government in Kabul that allied with Washington in the fight against the fundamentalists, who are now in power.
Previously, the Afghan armed forces, which relied heavily on the US to acquire weapons, was able to take advantage of some of this status.
The Taliban took control of the country in August last year, following a swift offensive during the final withdrawal of the US forces from the country.
Although the Taliban government is yet to be recognized by the international community, Bilal said they seek “to maintain bilateral diplomatic, business and economic relations with all countries.”
Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada said Wednesday that they seeks a “good” relationship with everyone including the US, a statement that came a week after he stressed that Kabul would not take orders from anyone even if they use the atomic bomb against them.
Afghanistan is in the midst of an economic crisis exacerbated by the capture of power by the Taliban in August last year, which led to the freezing of international funds for the reconstruction of the war-torn country.
The country has also been hit by several natural disasters, the most recent of them an earthquake that left more than a thousand dead two weeks ago, as well as droughts and floods. EFE
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