Afghanistan 'ready' to fight Taliban, says President Ashraf Ghani

Kabul: The Afghan government is ready to fight against the Taliban after the full withdrawal of foreign troops from the country, said President Ashraf Ghani as the US announced the completion of up to 20 percent troops from the war-torn country.

"The threat of terrorism has changed. It has not disappeared. We are all agreed on this," Ghani said in an interview with American public broadcasting service PBS on May 17.

"The US is committed to support things, providing support. This is financial, in the security area, in the economic area, in the humanitarian area, because the US, fortunately, shares the values of supporting the gains of the last 20 years. And our discussion is enormously productive."

The United States' military withdrawal from Afghanistan is up to 20 percent complete, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday (May 17).

"US Central Command estimates that we have completed between 13-20 percent of the entire retrograde process. We expect to be able to provide weekly updates on the progress of the retrograde," the combatant command responsible for the Middle East and parts of Central Asia said in a statement.

Taliban terrorists have intensified activities since the formal start of the US-led forces pull out from Afghanistan on May 1.

The US aims to complete the withdrawal by September 11. Ghani has recently held talks with influential political leaders, including the reconciliation council chief Abdullah Abdullah and former president Hamid Karzai, to build a consensus around peace and form a high-level state council.

The US entered Afghanistan ostensibly to eliminate and destroy the Al-Qaeda terror group under its "war on terror" military campaign.

However, the effort morphed into an extended attempt to establish democracy on Afghan soil, Sputnik reported.

During the intervening years, the Taliban regrouped and gained control of large parts of the nation in what has become America`s longest war that lasted over two decades and led to cost up to USD 1 trillion.

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