TIL Desk/World/Pyongyang/ Expressing dissatisfaction over New Delhi’s decades-old role in the Afghanistan peace process, US President Donald Trump said he wants the regional countries, including India, Russia and Pakistan to fight the Taliban in the war-torn country. In his first Cabinet meeting of the year, the US President also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for funding a library in Afghanistan, wondering who would use it in that country.
“Why is not Russia there (in Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban)? Why isn’t India there? Why isn’t Pakistan there? Why are we (US) there? We are 6,000 miles away. But I don’t mind. We want to help our people. We want to help other nations,” Trump told reporters in response to a question during the Cabinet meeting. The US President cited India’s efforts towards peace and development in Afghanistan but alleged that the countries were not doing enough in the war-ravaged country and that they were taking advantage of the United States.
Asserting that the Afghan war costs billions of dollars to the US, Trump said, “I want people to treat us fairly”. He noted that heads of countries have told him that they are involved in the peace process by “just sending some 100 or 200 soldiers”. The US president referred to his friendly terms with Prime Minister Modi, but appeared critical of a library funded by India in Afghanistan. “I could give you an example where I get along very well with India and Prime Minister Modi. But he is constantly telling me, he built a library in Afghanistan. Library! That’s like five hours of what we spend (in Afghanistan),” Trump told his cabinet colleagues.
