US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Taliban will be held accountable for its commitment to preventing terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a base for external terrorist operations against other countries. He added that the US will maintain a vigilant stance in the region to neutralise the threats.

“Taliban’s committed to preventing terrorist groups from using Afghanistan as a base for external ops that could threaten any of us, a pledge they have since extended not just to us but to all other countries. We need to hold them accountable to that commitment,” Blinken said.

He further said that the US cannot rely on the Taliban to meet the commitments, as was displayed by the ISIS-K attack on August 25, which resulted in the death of 13 US personnel and several Afghans. 

The US will maintain counter-terrorism capabilities in the region: Blinken

“All of us have to remain vigilant and monitor threats and address them swiftly when they arise. The US will maintain robust counterterrorism capabilities in the region to neutralize any threats, and we won’t hesitate to use those capabilities if we have to do so,” he said.

Blinken further said that the Taliban caretaker government must allow foreign nationals, visa holders and Afghans to travel outside the country if they wish and stressed that the key step to implementing the commitment would be to operationalise the Kabul Airport. 

The US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan last month, following which the Taliban took over the country in a swift move. While the withdrawal has come under criticism for the manner in which it was carried out, the Joe Biden administration is now under a pressure to ‘not recognise’ the Taliban government that has now been installed in Afghanistan.