Trump says Taliban could 'possibly' seize power after US leaves

Countries have to take care of themselves, says US president

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday said the Taliban could "possibly" overrun the Afghan government after the United States withdraws from the country, leaving the US-backed authorities to fend for themselves.

"Countries have to take care of themselves," Trump told reporters at the White House. "You can only hold someone's hand for so long."

Asked if the Taliban could eventually seize power, Trump said it's "not supposed to happen that way but it possibly will."

"We can't be there for the next 20 years. We've been there for 20 years and we've been protecting the country but we can't be there for the next -- eventually they're going to have to protect themselves," he said.

Trump said the Afghan government's ability to defend itself from the guerrillas after US forces pull out was unknown.

"I don't know. I can't answer that question," he said. "We'll have to see what happens."

The landmark deal, signed on Feb 29 in Doha, lays out a timetable for full troop withdrawal from Afghanistan within 14 months. It also says that both sides would free each other’s prisoners and hold the intra-Afghan dialogue due to begin on March 10.

However, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said after the deal that his government had not made any commitment to the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners. In response, Taliban said the intra-Afghan dialogue would take place only after the release of their prisoners.

Since the signing of the deal, Taliban have ramped up attacks against Afghan forces, ending a partial truce and casting a pall over the peace talks. Afghan interior ministry said the militants mounted 30 attacks in 15 of the country’s 34 provinces in the space of 24 hours, killing 20 soldiers.

After the attacks, US forces resumed military operations in the country after an 11-day pause. Sonny Leggett, a spokesperson for the US forces in Afghanistan, said that US jets conducted an airstrike on Wednesday against Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand.