World News | US Defence Chief Arrives in Kabul on 1st Trip to Afghanistan
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. State media reports that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived on Sunday in Kabul on his first trip to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief, amid swirling questions about how long American troops will remain in the country.
Kabul, Mar 21 (AP) State media reports that US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived on Sunday in Kabul on his first trip to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief, amid swirling questions about how long American troops will remain in the country.
State-owned Radio and Television Afghanistan and popular TOLO Television reported Austin's arrival in Kabul from India. He was expected to meet with senior Afghan government officials, including President Ashraf Ghani.
President Joe Biden said last week in an ABC News interview that it will be "tough" for the US to meet a May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. But he said that if the deadline, which is laid out in an agreement between former President Donald Trump's administration and the Taliban, is extended, it wouldn't be by a "lot longer."
In response, the Taliban on Friday warned of consequences if the US doesn't meet the deadline.
Suhail Shaheen, a member of the Taliban negotiation team, told reporters that if US troops stay beyond May 1, "it will be a kind of violation of the agreement. That violation would not be from our side. . . Their violation will have a reaction." (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)