Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai harshly criticized the United States for leaving his country a year ago and handing it over to the radical Islamist Taliban. “It’s very sad. The way the United States withdrew from Afghanistan was a disgrace. It’s an insult to us and painful to the American people,” he said in an interview with DW, released on Sunday, Aug. 14.

Karzai, amid the Taliban’s return to power, called on Afghans to unite and fight for their rights, including the right of girls and women to education. He dismissed the possibility of emigration, emphasizing that one does not leave one’s homeland in difficult times. “This is our country. This is our home. They don’t leave the house when it gets tough. You stay home and put your house in order. Briefly and clearly,” said the former president.

Afghanistan as a victim of terrorism

Hamid Karzai disagreed with the view that the American liquidation of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri could turn Afghanistan back into a sponsor of international terrorism. “Afghanistan has never been a sponsor of global terror. Afghanistan has been a victim of global terror. The Afghan people have been the greatest victims of terrorism. Afghans are very sympathetic to the victims of terror around the world because we ourselves have suffered even more. We were the first to suffer,” he said.

“Afghans are victims of terrorism and therefore, unfortunately, they have also become victims of the fight against terrorism. Therefore, we don’t want to have anything to do with terror. As for the al-Zawahiri incident, the Americans have informed that they killed him. The Taliban said they were not aware of al-Zawahiri’s presence in Kabul and that they would investigate. So let’s wait for the results of the investigation,” Karzai said.

difficult economic situation

In the context of the dire economic situation in Afghanistan, where nearly half the population suffers from malnutrition, Karzai urged Afghans to unite. “All Afghan people must be involved in the government of the country. As brothers, I ask the Taliban to consider all Afghans as brothers and sisters, even those who are against them and who are thinking of resisting. They must be contacted and returned to the political process, to national dialogue, so that, in a climate of unity and with the help of the word, we chart the path to a better future.It is with this appeal that I have repeatedly addressed the Taliban, recalled Karzai.

The former Afghan president has rejected the notion that Afghanistan is a lost country. “We are not a lost country. We are among the oldest countries and civilizations in this part of the world. This is just a moment in our thousand-year history. It will pass, and we will rise up and stand strong. women. If that were the case, it would mean that Afghanistan was lost. We will not allow that. Women will have an education. They will be engineers, doctors and journalists, parliamentarians, and they will be fine. The time will come and you will see it”, summarized the former president of Afghanistan.