Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson of the Taliban, has said that the United States’ 20-year military presence in Afghanistan came to an end on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the withdrawal of the last American soldier from the country.
Fitrat described Afghanistan as an “unconquerable land and the graveyard of empires,” saying that on this day, Afghans demonstrated to the world that struggle and sacrifice for freedom ultimately yield results.
He warned that any party intending to attack or “invade” Afghanistan should understand that the country is an unconquerable land.
In his remarks, Fitrat did not name any specific country or party. However, he characterized the end of the United States’ 20-year military presence as the result of the Afghan people’s “struggle for freedom.”
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States and its allies launched military operations in Afghanistan on October 7 of the same year. The operations led to the collapse of the Taliban government and marked the beginning of nearly two decades of U.S. and NATO military presence in Afghanistan.
In February 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed the Doha Agreement, under which the process of withdrawing foreign forces from Afghanistan began.
Following the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, the last American soldier left Afghanistan on August 31, bringing the United States’ nearly 20-year military presence in the country to an end.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
