The Taliban government in Afghanistan said on Wednesday it hoped for “a new chapter” with the re-election of Donald Trump, who signed a peace agreement with the Taliban during his first term as president of the United States.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said on X he hoped for “tangible progress in relations” and that Kabul and Washington “can open a new chapter”.
In February 2020, the United States, then chaired by Republican Donald Trump, signed the Doha agreement in Qatar which opened the way for the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. And with the return, in the process, of the Taliban to power, this time under the mandate of Democrat Joe Biden.
Three years later, no country has recognized the new authorities in Kabul.
Mr. Balkhi, however, did not fail to emphasize that the Doha agreement had been “signed under the administration of President Donald Trump” and had “put an end to 20 years of occupation”.
What are the main measures announced by Donald Trump in his program?
American Republicans have continued to criticize the chaotic American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021
From the fall of the Taliban in 2001 to their return to power in 2021, the Islamic Republic, a Western-backed government, ruled in Kabul. This government, ravaged by corruption, had presided over the opening of the country to the world and an expansion of personal freedoms, particularly for women.
As of Monday, Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government, assured that he wanted “good relations with everyone, America included”.
“Whoever wins will have to choose the path of politics based on the realities of Afghanistan,” he added.
American Republicans have continued to criticize the chaotic withdrawal of the Americans from Afghanistan in 2021, notably bloodied by a suicide attack at Kabul airport which killed 13 American soldiers. Mr. Trump also used it as a campaign argument against Kamala Harris, Mr. Biden's vice-president.
Joe Biden was regularly targeted for continuing the withdrawal process without imposing conditions on the Taliban, including a ceasefire between them and the ultimately overthrown Kabul government.
One of the main bones of contention between the Taliban authorities and the international community remains the question of women's rights in Afghanistan, where the UN says that the Taliban government imposes “gender apartheid”.
“The Americans are not ready to entrust the leadership of their great country to a woman,” said Wednesday on X the head of the Department of Information and Culture in Kandahar, the historic stronghold of the Taliban.
Donald Trump claims his victory: different heads of state react
