Afghans are going to have to decide their future, says Biden to the country’s leaders

On June 25, U.S. President Joe Biden met the President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani and the High Council for National Reconciliation’s Chairman Abdullah Abdullah in the Oval Office.

The meeting took place after the increased violence in Afghanistan with the Taliban making territorial gains. The U.S. will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by 11th of September.

“Our troops may be leaving but our support for Afghanistan is not ending in terms of support and maintenance of helping maintain their military as well as economic and political support”, the President stated. He added that the fate of the country is now in hands of its own people.

Biden has assured and vowed his country’s economic as well as political support to Afghan leaders present in the Oval Office. He has called the violence ‘senseless’ and said that Afghans will be deciding their future.

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Senior South Asia Director at the National Security Council Sumona Guha, The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power among others had Biden for the bilateral. The Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Haneef Atmar and National Security Advisor along with others represented Afghanistan.

On Friday afternoon, the White House had released a ‘fact sheet’ emphasizing its aid to Afghanistan including a commitment to provide 3 million COVID-19 vaccines of Johnson & Johnson along with $266 million in humanitarian assistance.

As per the sheet, the President has requested the U.S. Congress for $3.3 billion for the Defence Department’s Afghanistan Security Forces Fund.