"VAN" (Afghanistan Bureau) :: The State Secretary Mike Pompeo traveled to Kabul to deliver a harsh message of the U.S. President Donald Trump to Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, it has been reported.
Pompeo arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit two weeks amid growing tensions political level in Afghanistan.
Citing a former senior official and foreign diplomat, the NBC News reported that Pompeo delivered a message from Trump to the feuding leadership of the Afghan government, telling them they should resolve their differences and broker a deal with the Taliban or the president could not only cut $1 billion in financial aid to Afghanistan but also could pull all U.S. troops out of the country.
The State Department earlier announced that Washington is cutting $1 billion in economic assistance to Afghanistan in reaction to ongoing political impasse.
According to a statement released by State Department, Washington is prepared to further reduce its assistance to Afghanistan by additional $1 billion next year.
The statement further added “The United States deeply regrets that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and former Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah have informed Secretary Pompeo that they have been unable to agree on an inclusive government that can meet the challenges of governance, peace, and security, and provide for the health and welfare of Afghan citizens.”
“Because this leadership failure poses a direct threat to U.S. national interests, effective immediately, the U.S. government will initiate a review of the scope of our cooperation with Afghanistan,” the State Department said, adding that “Among other steps, we are today announcing a responsible adjustment to our spending in Afghanistan and immediately reducing assistance by $1 billion this year. We are prepared to reduce by another $1 billion in 2021.”
Tensions still remain high on political level following the controversial announcement of presidential election results.
Both Abdullah and Ghani held oath taking ceremonies in capital Kabul on 9th of March, further fueling political tensions amid ongoing efforts to find a negotiated political settlement to ongoing violence in the country.
KP
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