US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told MSNBC that the Taliban's control of Afghanistan by force would turn it into a pariah state and deprive it of international support. For its part, the movement condemned the US attacks last Wednesday on its fighters, bearing the consequences.
And Blinken expressed his country's concern about the Taliban's attempt to control Afghanistan by force, stressing that the United States will face any danger that poses a threat.
He pointed out that Washington is keen to provide the ability to monitor terrorist threats from Afghanistan, stressing that they are involved in diplomatic efforts because there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.
For its part, the Taliban said in a statement that the dead and wounded of its militants were killed by US raids in the provinces of Kandahar and Helmand in southern Afghanistan.
The movement confirmed that it will defend its territory with full force, and will choose the strategy of attack rather than defense.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated that the strikes took place on Wednesday evening and targeted the outskirts of the southern city of Kandahar, killing 3 of the movement's fighters and destroying two cars.
Mujahid condemned these air strikes and said, "It is a clear attack and a violation of the Doha agreement because they cannot carry out operations after (the month) of May," referring to an agreement between the United States and the Taliban that paves the way for the withdrawal of US forces. .
And US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters - yesterday, Thursday - that the strikes were in support of government security forces in the past days, without giving further details.
On the other hand, the spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, Muhammad Naeem, denied that the movement had stipulated the dismissal of President Ashraf Ghani for a ceasefire. True.
Earlier, media outlets quoted Shaheen as saying that the movement had no intention of monopolizing power, denying that the Taliban were planning to launch an attack on Kabul.
And the media quoted Shaheen as saying that peace in Afghanistan will not be achieved before the dismissal of President Ghani and the formation of a new government that is acceptable to all Afghans, but Naim said that Shaheen's statements were incorrectly understood.
Shaheen added that the Taliban did not threaten journalists, especially those who work in Western media, and said that the movement's control of several areas in the country was achieved through negotiations with citizens and not through fighting, noting that the Taliban does not seek civil war.
On the other hand, the government's Defense Ministry said that the Taliban's statements and "their claim to control 90% of the country's borders with neighboring countries are completely untrue."
The ministry added that the government forces are imposing their control on the borders, and that what the Taliban announced in this regard is "pure lies".
"It is baseless propaganda," Deputy Defense Ministry spokesman Fouad Aman told AFP.
Yesterday, the Taliban announced that it had seized more than one border crossing, and vast areas of border lands over the past weeks.
A spokesman for the movement said - in a statement to the Russian Sputnik agency - that his movement now controls 90% of the borders with neighboring countries.
Mujahid stressed that Taliban fighters control the entire Afghan-Tajik border.
In a related context, Imam Ali Ibrahim Zoda, deputy head of Tajikistan's emergency committee, said today that his country is preparing to receive up to 100,000 refugees from neighboring Afghanistan, where fighting has escalated with the withdrawal of US-led forces, and added that the government is already building two large warehouses to store Supplies needed for refugees in two areas bordering Afghanistan.