Michael McCaul, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed interest in dialogue with key figures opposing the Taliban, including Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front.
In an exclusive interview with Aref Yaqubi of Afghanistan International, McCaul mentioned discussions with other groups advocating the end of the Taliban regime.
McCaul said, “We can try to change Taliban's behaviour, but we don’t want to bribe them. I would like to talk to the remaining active and living leaders of the Northern Alliance."
He added that the US wants to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a threat to the country and the Western world as it did in the past. McCaul emphasised that every possible tool would be used to achieve this goal.
McCaul expressed his desire for the swift end of the Taliban regime. He said that it’s tragic that most Afghans have to live under the Taliban’s cruel rule.
As Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, McCaul also advocated for women's rights in Afghanistan.
This seems to be the first time a US Congressional official has explicitly spoken about engaging with Taliban’s opponents.
Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, at least two military fronts, Afghanistan Freedom Front and National Resistance Front, have been actively opposing the Taliban government. These fronts occasionally report guerrilla attacks against Taliban forces and outposts. However, anti-Taliban fronts are yet to secure any international support.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Meeting on Afghanistan
The House Foreign Affairs Committee held a bipartisan meeting on Thursday on Afghanistan, attended by both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
US representatives in Afghan affairs and the Deputy Administrator for the US Agency for International Development answered lawmakers' questions during this meeting.
In the meeting, McCaul stated that the Taliban is a terrorist group, but the Biden administration is trying to remove them from the terror list.
McCaul mentioned that Afghan women are not allowed to leave their homes without men, and the Taliban has deprived girls of education. He also noted that the Taliban provides sanctuary to the al-Qaeda and that American equipment left in Afghanistan is now being sold to terrorist groups.
He revealed that Sirajuddin Haqqani, the Taliban’s Interior Minister, had given refuge to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former al-Qaeda leader.
