The strategy employed by the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan shows that Washington aims to "plunge the country into turmoil" intentionally, Tasnim Aslam, former Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told Sputnik on Wednesday
ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th July, 2021) The strategy employed by the United States to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan shows that Washington aims to "plunge the country into turmoil" intentionally, Tasnim Aslam, former Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told Sputnik on Wednesday.
"[The] US withdrawal from Afghanistan has been on the cards for sometime now. However, the manner and execution of the withdrawal has set up Afghanistan for a perfect storm. I would not rule out that it is intentional. Wherever the US has intervened, it has left a trail of destruction and chaos," Aslam said.
Allegedly, the US forces left Afghanistan's largest Bagram air base overnight without notifying the Afghans, according to the base's new commander, General Mir Asadullah Kohistani. The facility was reportedly left without electricity and, as a result, was exposed to looters after the unannounced exit.
Aslam stressed that the prospects for potential unrest are high as the Afghan government will most likely struggle to remain in power and avoid collapsing after the Americans' exit. She further noted that Pakistan has been the target of a proxy war from the Afghan territory under US watch, and that there was little hope that the situation would improve.
"Proxies and use of Afghan territory against Afghanistan's immediate neighbors, particularly Pakistan, under the US watch flourished unabated for twenty years as did the poppy cultivation and drug trafficking," she remarked.
On Tuesday, the US Central Command said the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan was 90% complete. The deadline for a full exit was set for September 11. At the same time, Commanding General Austin Miller warned that the country might be on the path to civil war after Washington is through pulling out its troops.
