Biden: US Recognition of Afghanistan Is ‘Long Way Off'

US President Joe Biden said that his country is not going to recognize the Taliban movement in Afghanistan, stressing that this step is still 'a long way off'.

During a press conference held at the White House lawn, journalists asked Biden as to whether the US was going to recognize the power of the Taliban in Afghanistan. "No. That’s a long way off. That’s a long way off," he responded.

It is worth mentioning that, Mullah Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban, will command a new Afghan government that would be proclaimed soon, sources said on Friday (September 3), as the Islamist group fought rebel fighters in the Panjshir Valley and fought to avoid economic collapse.

According to three sources, Baradar, who runs the Taliban’s political office, will be joined in top government roles by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban co-founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai.

“All of the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where final preparations for the announcement of the new government are underway,” a Taliban official said on condition of anonymity.

Another Taliban insider indicated that Taliban supreme religious commander Haibatullah Akhunzada will concentrate on religious concerns and administration within the framework of Islam.

The Taliban, who captured Kabul on August 15 after sweeping across the nation, have run into resistance in the Panjshir Valley, north of the city, with intense combat and casualties reported.

Thousands of militants from regional militias and government armed forces have gathered in the mountainous valley under the command of Ahmad Massoud, the son of former Mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud.