Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai called NATO’s 20-year mission in Afghanistan a “failure,” saying, “Those who came here 20 years ago in the name of fighting extremism and terrorism not only failed to end it but, under their watch, extremism in Afghanistan has flourished. That is what I call a failure.”

Karzai pointed out that the US and NATO forces were “supposed to help stabilize the country, instead of storming into Afghani homes and villages, and bombing people and killing families.”

During an interview with The Times, Karzai also said that his country is witnessing a division and that the Afghan people are “living under great duress.”

This comes amid an announcement by the “Taliban” that it has “gained control over a number of checkpoints,” seized the security forces’ weapons and ammunition, and captured many of them in different Afghan states.

Germany has ended the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan as part of an operation that had begun in May, according to an announcement by the Germany Ministry of Defense.

Senior Pentagon officials announced that the recent attacks by the Taliban, which the “American military is monitoring closely,” will not affect the army’s withdrawal from Afghanistan by September 11th.

US President Biden met his Afghan counterpart last Saturday, where Biden stressed the United States’ commitment to fully supporting inter-Afghan dialogue and providing “civilian, development, and humanitarian aid.”