A former defence minister, despising President Donald Trump’s remarks on
the Soviet invasion, has lashed out at the United States for lingering
security threats in Afghanistan.

At a cabinet meeting earlier on the week, Trump defended the Soviet
invasion, saying the former USSR were right to attack Afghanistan to
prevent the entry of terrorists,

Reacting to Trump’s statement, Shah Nawaz Tanai, who served as defence
minister during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, accused the US which
of spearheading the war against the Soviets.

“There was no terrorist in the northern parts of Afghanistan to pose amy
threat to Soviet Union. But when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, fighting
also started in northern Afghanistan,” Tanai said in an interview with a
Pakistani newspaper.

Gen. Tanai said: “People refused to accept the (Soviet) invasion and
started resistance. Many people launched an armed struggle. Donald Trump
has ignored historical facts and talked nonsense.”

About Trump’s statement that Russia, Pakistan and India should fight the
terrorists in Afghanistan, Tanai said the US was trying to put an end to
its longest war in its history.

The Americans had failed to win the war in Afghanistan and that was why
Trump had sacked his defence secretary James Mattis, he said, believing
the US would not completely exit Afghanistan.

His assessment is based on America’s campaign to counter the influence of
Russia and Iran in the region. “Americans are also interested in the
continuation of the present democratic and the pro-Western system, so they
should not feel threatened.”

The US has committed many mistakes in Afghanistan over the past 17 years,
according to Tanai, who excoriated American generals for their inability
to perform their duties sincerely.