After a drone strike conducted by the US on the Kabul green zone of Sherpur, in which the US said Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of the al-Qaeda network, was killed, Kabul and Washington have accused each other of violating the Doha agreement.
US President Joe Biden announced the killing of the al-Qaeda leader in a live announcement.
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that “by hosting and sheltering the leader of al Qaida in Kabul, the Taliban grossly violated the Doha Agreement and repeated assurances to the world that they would not allow Afghan territory to be used by terrorists to threaten the security of other countries.”
Meanwhile, the Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed the airstrike but didn’t provide details, however he accused the US of violating the agreement signed between the two side on February 29, 2020, in the Gulf State of Qatar.
The Islamic Emirate has yet to provide details about the US president’s remarks about targeting Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of the al-Qaeda network in Kabul.
“The security and intelligence agencies of the Islamic Emirate investigated the incident and found in their preliminary investigations that the attack was carried out by American drones,” Mujahid said in a statement. “IEA strongly condemns this attack on any cause and calls it a clear violation of international principles and the Doha Agreement.”
“When the US exited, it destroyed the radars of the airport, therefore such attacks could not be prevented and this attack is an obvious violation by the US in Afghanistan,” said Mohammad Nasir Haqqani, a political analyst.
“The US should have remained committed to whatever was promised in the Doha agreement but this attack showed that the US itself has violated the Doha agreement,” said Sayed Akbar Agha, a political analyst.
The agreement signed in Doha called on the Islamic Emirate to cut ties with the al-Qaeda network.
“The Doha agreement is clearly saying that the Taliban should cut ties with terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and not allow these groups to act against the US from Afghanistan, and the leader of al-Qaeda has been in Kabul,” said Torek Farhadi, a political analyst.
“The killing of al Zawahiri means that the Taliban have relations with the al-Qaeda group and their credibility has dropped in the eyes of the international community and it will directly affect their recognition by the international community,” said Mahdi Afzali, a political analyst.
According to Reuters, in January, 2006, CIA-operated Predator drones fired missiles at a house in Damadola, a village in the Pakistani tribal region of Bajaur, in the belief that Zawahiri was visiting. He was not but at least 18 villagers were killed.
Meanwhile, in response to remarks of US Department spokesperson Ned Price, Islamic Emirate said it has implemented all commitments based on the Doha agreement.
Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate-led government, said the government is committed to ensuring the rights all citizens including women and minorities, according to Sharia.
“We want good relations with all countries, but we do not allow anyone who will dictate to us on the formations and structure of government,” said Karimi.
Ned Price, US Department spokesperson, on July 21 said that the US expects the Taliban to uphold commitments they have made to the international community and the Afghan people.
In a press briefing, Price further said there is no compromise when it comes to the commitments that the Islamic Emirate has put forward in private and in public.
“These are, in some ways, very simple commitments respecting the basic rights of people of Afghanistan – its women and girls, its minorities, its religious minorities – respecting the right of free passage for those who seek to leave, upholding its counterterrorism commitments, including in the context of al-Qaida, including in the context of the ISIS branch in Afghanistan, forging a government that is representative of the Afghan people,” said Ned Price.
Respecting human rights and freedom of speech, an inclusive government, counterterrorism and keeping Afghanistan’s soil from being used against the US and its partners were highlighted points of the Doha Agreement signed in Qatar.
On Friday, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, in a series of tweets said that the Islamic Emirate has implemented all the commitments of the Doha Agreement and it will not allow anyone to use Afghanistan’s soil against America and its allies.
