Doha Agreement Empowered Taliban, Says White House Spokesperson

In an interview with Afghanistan International, she criticised the Doha agreement as being notably weak.

Curtis, a senior policymaker in Donald Trump's administration during the signing of the Doha Agreement in February 2020, contributed to shaping the United States' policy towards Afghanistan at that time.

She stated that the Doha agreement greatly favoured the Taliban, as it did not require the group to cut ties with terrorist organisations.

According to her, the agreement merely urged the Taliban to refrain from permitting attacks on US interests by terrorists.

She said that this agreement has, in fact, bolstered the fragile Taliban.

Curtis expressed that, it is time to set the Doha agreement aside and explore new approaches in engaging with the Taliban. She advocates for a form of conditional engagement that exerts pressure on the Taliban to uphold the rights of women and girls.

This former White House official underscored that the Doha Agreement failed to secure US security interests in Afghanistan and the region. Additionally, she noted an intensification of terrorist threats within Afghanistan, pointing to the increasing strength of the Khorasan branch of ISIS as a global threat, along with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and some Central Asian terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan.

According to her, after the signing of the Doha Agreement, the US is "not safer" and is not in a better position.

She stressed that the international community is not exerting sufficient efforts to hold the Taliban accountable for their actions.

The Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban was signed on February 29, 2020. The agreement was reached after eighteen months of negotiations involving the US delegation led by Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban delegation led by Mullah Baradar.

According to their release, the Front's forces launched an offensive against a Taliban checkpoint in Nawbahar village, Baghlan, on Wednesday night.

There has been no response from the Taliban regarding the incident.

Under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has declared its ongoing commitment to conduct precise strikes aimed at dismantling the Taliban and liberating the nation from its control.

As a prominent military and political group in opposition to the Taliban, the Front has executed several significant attacks against the Taliban forces throughout the last two and a half years.

Miller said that US officials have emphasised on the immediate and unconditional release of their citizens in meetings with Taliban representatives.

He made these statements on Wednesday in response to the question by Marzia Hosseini, a reporter of Afghanistan International in Washington.

On Sunday, February 25, an 84-year-old Austrian citizen was freed from Taliban captivity through the mediation of Qatar. He had traveled to Afghanistan last year and had been detained by the Taliban on charges of espionage.

Miller commented on the situation of Ryan Corbett, a US citizen held captive by the Taliban since 2022, stating, "US officials have consistently and persistently advocated, including in meetings with Taliban representatives, for the immediate and unconditional release of Americans detained in Afghanistan."

Earlier, Morgan McGarvey, congressman, also demanded the immediate release of Ryan Corbett from Taliban detention.

Corbett, his wife, and three children lived in Kabul since 2010 and left Afghanistan in August 2021. Corbett's family said the Taliban arrested him on August 10, 2022, while on a business trip to Kabul, along with a German and two Afghan colleagues.

In the past, the Taliban has used detained US citizens to exchange with its imprisoned members.

The statement elaborated that these individuals were sentenced to five months of suspended imprisonment and 20 lashes.

The Taliban's Supreme Court statement did not provide further details about the charges against these individuals.

This sentence was issued by a Taliban military court in Herat, but it is unclear whether the accused were members of the Taliban group.

Previously, the Taliban's military court in Herat had sentenced a poet named Khaled Qaderi to one year in prison.

Since the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan, physical punishments such as flogging, amputation, and execution have been reinstated in the country.

Human rights advocates and the international community have called on the Taliban to stop inhumane and cruel physical punishments that violate human dignity. However, Taliban officials have stated that they are implementing Islamic Sharia and that these organisations and countries should not interfere in Afghanistan's internal affairs.

Mohib asserted that apart from former President Ashraf Ghani, Vice-President Amrullah Saleh, and a significant number of well-known political figures along with himself, had established relations with the group.

These remarks were made during an interview with Waliullah Malikzai, an Afghan journalist based in the United States. The interview was published on an Afghan-German website earlier this week.

Mohib also refuted claims of coordination and contact with the Haqqani network, allegations that had been reinforced by Ashraf Ghani's brother on Wednesday.

He clarified, "The only time I reached out to Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani was when the regime was collapsing. I proposed a meeting in Logar or Wardak, only to discover later he was communicating from abroad."

Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai, the brother of Ashraf Ghani, on Wednesday had disclosed that Hamdullah Mohib had been in communication with Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, a high-ranking Taliban official, before the Taliban's takeover of Kabul. According to him, the National Security Advisor had engaged in discussions with Haqqani "six times" one month prior to the city's fall.

The former President's brother accused Mohib of betraying Ashraf Ghani's trust and deceiving the Afghan populace, as stated in a post on X.

The fall of the government

Mohib attributed the collapse of the government to the demoralisation of the military forces, stating, "A critical error was our reliance on the physical presence of our soldiers in the trenches, even though they had lost their morale."

He recounted suggesting a strategic retreat to Panjshir to Bismillah Mohammadi, the then Defence Minister, to continue the fight against the Taliban. However, Mohammadi deemed it unfeasible, citing a lack of leadership and the morale present during the initial resistance.

Moreover, Mohib expressed his disapproval of supporting anti-Taliban factions, reasoning that "their armament, commands, and strategies are externally sourced”.

Mohib lamented that individuals closely associated with Ashraf Ghani have since distanced themselves, leaving the former President isolated. Currently, Mohib has chosen to reside in Abu Dhabi, close to Ashraf Ghani.

I was executing Ghani's orders

Mohib addressed political critics who have blamed Ghani for monopolising power and confining the decision-making to a select group around the President. He countered these criticisms by stating, "Decisions attributed to me were often taken under the directives of President Ghani and were not my independent choices."

The former National Security Advisor clarified that he is not pursuing any political role in Afghanistan, pointing out the Taliban's unwillingness to share power. He observed, "The Taliban are currently basking in power, indifferent to any advice."

A leader without a country

For the first time, Mohib disclosed that both Switzerland and Norway had denied asylum to the former President of Afghanistan. He speculated that India would likely have made a similar decision.

Despite Ashraf Ghani's favourable relations with India, he opted not to seek refuge there, given India's policy of engagement with the current power holders in Kabul.

After the Taliban encircled Kabul on August 15, 2021, the former President initially fled to Uzbekistan by helicopter before ultimately seeking asylum in the United Arab Emirates.