The United States and the United Nations Security Council on Monday condemned the terrorist attack at a voter registration centre in Kabul, with the White House insisting it was moving forward on its South Asia strategy.
“We’re continuing to move forward with the strategy that was announced. And I don’t have any other policy announcements at this time,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters at her daily news conference.
She was responding to a question on a series of latest terrorist attacks in Afghanistan.
At the UN headquarters in New York, members of the Security Council condemned as heinous and cowardly the terrorist attack that took place at a voter registration centre in Kabul.
Expressing their deepest sympathy and condolences to families of the victims and to the government of Afghanistan, they wished a speedy and full recovery to the injured, the Council,
They underlined the need for holding the perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of the reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bringing them to justice
Meanwhile, the Pentagon said it remained committed to staying in Afghanistan till the time terrorists were defeated.
“We strongly condemned the deplorable suicide attack on a voter registration center and Kabul that killed approximately 60 people and wounded over 100 others,” Col Robert Manning, Pentagon Spokesman told reporters during an off-camera news conference.
“This senseless violence targeting innocent civilians exercising their fundamental democratic rights exposes the savagery and inhumanity of terrorists,” he said. The US, along with its Afghan and international partners, were committed to destroying ISIS in Afghanistan, he added.
“We stand with the people and government of Afghanistan and their fight against terrorism. The US reaffirms its support for the Afghan government, Afghan security forces and the independent electoral commission in their efforts to ensure the elections process is transparent, credible and safe,” Manning said.
The Trump administration, he said, was still focused on its South Asia strategy — the ability to regionalize support to defeat terrorists in the region. “It’s a tough fight obviously. But we still continue to move forward in accordance with the strategy,” Manning said.
The attack on the polling station reaffirmed American commitment to Afghan partners and the reason why it had had to focus on rooting out violent extreme extremism.
“When citizens can’t go and register and exercise their democratic right to vote, that’s a problem. They certainly deserve it and that’s why we’re going to stay there to make sure that we can work with our Afghan partners to allow them that right,” Manning concluded.
