"US withdrawal from Afghanistan is a shame" - Hamid Karzai

It was a shame that the US military ended its military mission in Afghanistan last August and left the country. The former President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, expressed this opinion in an interview with DW media company.

Karzai criticized the US for leaving Afghanistan alone and leaving the country, thus handing over power to the Taliban.

"It's very sad. The way the United States pulled out of Afghanistan was a disgrace. It is insulting for us and painful for the American people," he said.

Karzai called on Afghans to unite and fight for their rights, including girls' and women's right to education, amid the Taliban's return to power. He denied the possibility of leaving the country and said that he did not leave the country in difficult times.

"This is our country. This is our home. They do not leave their homes when it is difficult. You stay at home and clean your house. Short and clear," said the former President.

Hamid Karzai does not agree with the idea that the American killing of Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri could turn Afghanistan into a sponsor of international terrorism again.

"Afghanistan has never been a sponsor of global terrorism. Afghanistan has become a victim of global terrorism. The Afghan people have become the biggest victims of terrorism. Afghans sympathize with the victims of terror around the world because we ourselves have suffered more. "Afghans deeply sympathize with the victims of the September 11 tragedy, because we were the first to suffer," he said.

Karzai noted that while Afghans are victims of terrorism, they have also become victims of the fight against it.

"That's why we don't want to have anything to do with terrorism. As for the incident with al-Zawahiri, the Americans announced that they had killed him. "Taliban" said that it was not aware of al-Zawahiri's stay in Kabul and that it will conduct an investigation in this regard. Therefore, we are waiting for the results of the investigation," said Karzai.

For information, Hamid Karzai was the President of Afghanistan in 2004-2014.