Taliban reacts as Saudi envoy brands calls the group a terrorist organization

AVA- A spokesman for the group Zabiullah Mujahid in a statement said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabai should play its role to resolve the ongoing conflict in the country, claiming that Afghanistan has been occupied by the foreigners.

Mujahid also dismissed the remarks by the Saudi envoy regarding the group’s political office in Qatar, saying that office has been established with an aim to seek ways for the peace talks and reconciliation.

The Saudi Arabia Charge d’Affaires in Kabul said Monday that the stance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is that it condemns any move through violence and insurgency against the government of Afghanistan as a terrorist act.

He also added that the kingdom considers the Taliban group as an ‘anti-government terrorist group’.

This comes as the pressures are on the rise against the insurgency led by the Taliban group amid soaring violence across the country, mainly led by the Taliban insurgents.

The United States has also increased pressures and efforts to dismantle the sanctuaries and channels through which the group receives support, mainly based in Pakistan.

In an interview with the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, President Trump’s national security adviser, Gen. Herbert McMaster said  White House wants to see a “change in behavior” from interested groups in the region, particularly Pakistan. The top aide said that while Pakistan has taken “great losses” fighting the Taliban, they have done so “selectively.”

“This is Pakistan in particular that we want to really see a change in– and a reduction of their support– for– these groups,” he said. “I mean, this is– of course, you know, a very paradoxical situation, right, where Pakistan is taking great losses.”

“They have fought very hard against these groups,” McMaster argued, “but they’ve done so really only selectively.”

He said that Trump is making clear that the U.S. will no longer tolerate any support for the Taliban or related groups.

“The president has also made clear that he, that we need to see a change in behavior of those in the region, which includes those who are providing safe haven and support bases for the Taliban,” McMaster added.