Joe Biden said there is an “increasing risk of attack by the terrorist group ISIS-K” if the United States remains in Afghanistan longer.

President Joe biden said on Tuesday that US-led Afghanistan evacuation airlift set to end soon due to growing threat from Afghan branch of ISIS-K.

The longer the United States stays in the country, Biden said, There is an “acute and increasing risk of attack from terrorist group known as ISIS-K“, or Islamic State-Khorasan.

“Every day that we are in the field is one more day that we know that ISIS-K attempts to attack the airport and attack both the United States and the Allied forces“He added.

Shortly before, Biden had told G7 leaders that the United States was “on track” to complete its military withdrawal from Afghanistan by August 31., but that contingency plans were being developed in case the self-imposed deadline could not be met.

Until, Nearly 60,000 people, including foreigners and Afghans, have been evacuated from the country from Kabul airport since August 14., mostly on US military flights, according to figures from Washington. But a crowd is still gathered outside the establishment, waiting for the opportunity to leave.

Islamist fundamentalists reaffirmed on Tuesday that they were opposed to an extension of the deadline beyond August 31., date on which the total withdrawal of foreign troops is planned.

One of the spokespersons of the movement, Zabihullah Mujahid, accused of foreign powers of having evacuated “Afghan experts”, such as engineers. “We ask them to stop these operations,” he demanded.

“They have planes, they have the airport, they should get their citizens and their contractors out of here.“, mentioned. But” they must not encourage the Afghans to flee Afghanistan “.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Biden had told G7 leaders that the mission in Kabul “will end depending on the achievement of our goals” by the United States..

He added that “the completion of the mission by August 31 it depends on continued coordination with the Taliban, including continued access of evacuees to the airport. “

“The president asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the schedule if necessary.“, commented the spokesperson.

European countries said that they will not be able to airlift all Afghans in distress before the August 31 deadline and Biden has faced demands from all corners to extend the evacuation time.

On Monday, the Taliban – who ended two decades of war with a meteoric offensive that saw them seize Kabul on August 15 and control most of the country – They said the August 31 deadline was the limit and threatened “consequences” if Western countries prolong “the occupation”.

The G7, in its final statement, called on the Taliban to “to guarantee” a “safe passage“Beyond the current August 31 deadline for those who want to leave Afghanistan.

This demand is the “first condition we impose” on the new Taliban regime.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

The group also warned fundamentalists that “They will be held accountable for their actions to prevent terrorism and for human rights, especially those of women.”

He further pointed out that Afghanistan “must no longer be a haven for terrorism and a source of terrorist attacks against other countries”.

In Afghanistan, citizens who have worked for governments or foreign companies in recent years, artists or those who have defended the openness of the country and the rights of women or minorities, they know they are potential targets of extremists.

Tuesday, during his press conference, However, the spokesman for the Taliban assured that Afghan officials can resume work when “security is guaranteed.”.

“We want them to work but also for security to be good” for this, said Zabihullah Mujahid, who stressed that for the moment, women should stay at home.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned on Tuesday that the treatment that the Taliban treat of women, especially with regard to their right to education, will represent a “red line”.

Bachelet stressed that she had received “credible information on serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses in many areas under Taliban control ”. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that he only has enough sanitary supplies in the country for “a week”.

The Taliban, who are working to form a new government, say they have changed from 20 years ago, when they established a brutal and fundamentalist regime between 1996 and 2001. However, the international community is wary of this statement.

But a report by a UN panel of experts released last week concluded that Islamists go door to door looking for people who worked with the former government or international troops.

Fundamentalists have imposed a little calm in the capital, where they patrol the streets, but fear is still present and many citizens, especially women, do not take the risk of going out.

A core of resistance to the Taliban persists in the Panshir, northeast of Kabul, called the National Resistance Front (FNR). It is led by Ahmad Masud, son of the famous commander Masud, assassinated in 2001, and by Amrullah Saleh, vice-president of the overthrown government.

(With AFP information)

Read on: