Afghan spokesman says end of foreign military presence remains Taliban’s ‘greatest achievement’
The Taliban wants formal diplomatic relations with the US but said Washington must first address the legacy of its two-decade war in Afghanistan, Taliban spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi told CBS News in an interview.
Five years after the Taliban returned to power following the US withdrawal, Balkhi portrayed the end of the foreign military presence as the administration’s main achievement, while acknowledging persistent unemployment, economic difficulties and public dissatisfaction.
“The greatest achievement obviously Afghanistan has had is the end of occupation,” said Balkhi, arguing that the country had since seen improvements in security, trade, investment and infrastructure.
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He claimed Afghan exports rose from $750 million in 2020 to nearly $2 billion, while the number of factories increased from 1,500 to 6,000. He also said the government had been able to pay civil servants and attract billions of dollars in investment.
Balkhi acknowledged, however, that “there are areas where we haven’t met the expectation of the general population,” citing widespread unemployment and other challenges.
The interview on Tuesday also highlighted Afghanistan’s continued diplomatic isolation. Russia is the only country to have formally recognized the Taliban government.
Balkhi argued that Afghanistan was already engaging diplomatically with several countries and questioned the practical meaning of formal recognition.
On relations with Washington, he said Kabul wanted diplomatic ties with “every single country of the world, including the United States,” and would welcome the reopening of the US Embassy and American investment in sectors such as minerals and gas.
He also rejected calls by US President Donald Trump for Afghanistan to return billions of dollars worth of American-funded military equipment left behind after the 2021 withdrawal. CBS reported that roughly $7 billion in US military hardware remained in Afghanistan.
“That’s the assets of the state of Afghanistan,” said Balkhi, rejecting any deal linking the equipment to the release of Afghan funds frozen abroad.
Asked about the argument that American taxpayers paid for the equipment, Balkhi responded, “The Americans did a lot of things. Americans killed a lot of people, destroyed the majority of the country. Should they not be paying for that first?”
Balkhi demanded the release of Afghan central bank assets frozen by Washington, saying the funds belonged to the Afghan state rather than the Taliban government.
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On the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, Balkhi said the Taliban condemned attacks on civilians and reiterated its commitment under the Doha agreement that Afghan territory would not be used to attack the US or any other country.
The interview also focused on restrictions on women and girls. Regarding the suspension of public schooling for girls from seventh grade onward, Balkhi said alternative forms of education remained available and rejected reports of girls attending clandestine classes despite the restrictions.
“There is no such thing as secret schools,” he said, describing the arrangements as homeschooling or madrasa, or Islamic, education.
Looking back at the war that followed the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, Balkhi said Afghanistan had learned that conflicts should be resolved through diplomacy.
“War is not the solution, and occupying Afghanistan certainly isn’t to your benefit,” he said, urging greater cooperation for Afghanistan’s reconstruction and development.
