Former Afghan MP: US knew about security situation

A former member of Afghanistan's parliament said the country and its people have been abandoned by the US and its allies. Speaking to DW, Naheed Farid said US President Joe Biden was well aware of the challenges facing Afghan security forces but pulled the plug on the 20 year mission anyway.

"The Afghanistan security situation was not a secret to President Biden — was not a secret to the world, it was not a secret to [the] intelligence community," she said. 

Farid said blame should also be apportioned to the UN, EU and NATO for leaving the country at the mercy of the Taliban. The former MP said Biden's Tuesday address was cold comfort considering all the years, money and blood it took to fight the Taliban, only to hand the country to the militant group in the end.

Meanwhile, Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was under pressure on Wednesday in an emergency session in Parliament asking questions about how much NATO intelligence knew about the likelihood of a Taliban takeover.

While his assessment was not quite as stark as Farid's, with Raab saying western intelligence agencies were universally surprised by the speed of the Afghan government's collapse, he did acknowledge that the troop withdrawal was expected to lead "a steady deterioration" and a relatively rapid fall of Kabul. 

"The central proposition was that, given the troop withdrawal by the end of August, you would see a steady deterioration from that point, and that it was unlikely Kabul would fall this year." Raab said this was a view shared by NATO allies.

Afghanistan was ‘abandoned'

Taking into account the knowledge of the dire security situation, which Farid believes was common knowledge, the former MP said the country was simply not ready to be left completely on its own. "This information was publicly available in major outlets that [the]  Afghanistan situation is not ready for withdraw, is not ready for abandoning. And imagine like the people of Afghanistan are thinking, but Afghan national security forces are feeling this these days, that the world abandoned them."

The Afghan National Army has been severely criticized by Biden since the Taliban captured Kabul. The US president stated he doesn't want US troops "dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight themselves.”

They had fought alongside coalition troops over the years, and died in far greater numbers in the two decades of war. Since the US withdrawal, many of those who fought now fear Taliban retribution.

Fight for Afghanistan is not over

Farid told DW about the fighters refusing to surrender to the Taliban in the Panjshir Valley.

"As President Biden continues to say that Afghans are not willing to defend your values, there are resistance in the country... against the Taliban regime," she said. "And they have allies among all... tribes, groups from all over the country and even out of the country."

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Taliban claimed to have the remaining rebels surrounded, and issued an appeal for them to throw down their weapons, saying they would not be harmed if they complied.

The region lies 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of Kabul and has a history of resistance. It is the only province that has refused to surrender to the Taliban. Forces are made up of local militias and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud.

Farid said she hoped the resistance against Taliban would spread and the fight for freedom would not end now.

"We don't abandon our country like others did. And we will continue to fight for the values and freedom of Afghan people," Farid said.