The US special envoy for Afghanistan, Thomas West said at an event on Monday that Washington is not backing “organized armed opposition” to the Islamic Emirate and that it would “discourage other powers from doing so as well.”
Speaking at an event at the US Institute of Peace (USIP), the US special representative for Afghanistan suggested that Pakistan previously had an opportunity to help with a negotiated settlement Afghanistan, which it did not take.
“I think had Pakistan taken some of those steps in a more meaningful and consistent way, I think we would be in a different place today,” he said.
West said that he believes “there is a recognition in Pakistan that the current leadership of the interim authorities in Afghanistan is not truly representative and potentially not sustainable.”
He suggested said the decision made by US President Joe Biden over the fate of $7 billion Afghan assets was meant to protect the assets for Afghanistan: “Fundamentally the action was about protecting $3.5 billion for the benefit of the Afghan people,” West said.
The US envoy expressed optimism over the reopening of schools and universities for the girls.
“I believe the Taliban will make decisions to enroll women and girls at all levels, not as a response to international pressure at all, I think this is a genuine domestic Afghan demand … that we hear from across the country,” he said.
