Afghanistan will be graveyard of Daesh: Ghani aide

WASHINGTON (Pajhwok): With the increasing capabilities and strength of the security forces, Afghanistan will prove a “graveyard” of Daesh, a confident presidential spokesman said ahead of Afghan-US talks at Camp David.

Ajmal Obaid Abidy made the assertion during an interview Pajhwok Afghan News hours after President Ashraf Ghani and his CEO Dr Abdullah Abdullah arrived in Washington for talks with American leaders.  

He said the talks would focus not only on security aspects of the relationship, but also on economic self-reliance, a goal articulated by Ghani after coming to power last year.

“Stability of Afghanistan is key to stability of the region and Islamic countries. Of course, the United States can play a very significant role in creation of such consensus (among regional players and Islamic countries),” he added.

On Sunday evening, Secretary of State, John Kerry hosted a dinner for Ghani and Abdullah. At Monday’s talks, Kerry will be joined by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew and others.

The visit of new Afghan leaders, Abidy said, was to thank the American people, its security forces and leadership for the role they had played and the sacrifices made to bring peace and defeat insurgents.

“A lot of change has happened in Afghanistan between 14 years ago and now. This change inside the country was not possible without the support of the United States,” he acknowledged.

In fact, Ghani and Abdullah would kick off their official engagement Monday when they drive down to the Pentagon and deliver a speech to the US armed forces for the sacrifices made by them in Afghanistan. On Tuesday, the two leaders will visit the Arlington Cemetery.

The Afghan delegation will reiterate its commitment to the fight against corruption and administrative effectiveness. “This is a responsible government. We are taking measures to fight corruption and we have a very effective agenda of reform. We are committed to fighting corruption and implementing reform,” he said.

Security would be one of the major issues, Abidy said, adding the nature of war had changed. “There are new threats facing Afghanistan and the region, Islamic countries and the whole world.”

There should be effective and proper ways to overcome the threats, he stressed. “Actually terror has morphed into a system. It is not only a phenomenon. Without understanding this system, without regional cooperation, we are not really able to fight it,” he remarked.

“A strong message we want to send is that our national security forces are strong enough to defend the country. Of course, we need more support when it comes to training our forces. We are determined Afghanistan will be graveyard for Daesh,” Abidy concluded.

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