KABUL: The decision of US President Donald Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was largely condemned by the Afghan government and public, and the Taliban militants who were fighting to expel US-led forces from the country.
In a statement that came long after the announcement of the US president’s decision, and after many Islamic nations had condemned it, the Afghan presidential palace said it was deeply concerned about the move.
“Realizing the grave concern of the Afghan people and the Muslims of the world, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has expressed its reservations and concern through diplomatic channels on the recognition of Jerusalem [as Israel’s new capital] and relocation of the US embassy, to the leadership of that country.”
The move has hurt the Muslim world and will “jeopardize the peace process in the Middle East,” it said, adding that the Afghan government and people wanted the restoration of the “right of Palestinian people to have an independent state.”
Shortly after Trump’s announcement, many Afghan social media users termed the step another major affront to the Islamic world.
“Trump’s announcement … for the sake of appeasing Israel is an affront to 1.5 billion Muslims and is against all the legal and humanitarian norms,” said Fazlullah Mumtaz, an Islamic cleric.
Qazi Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, a lawmaker of the Afghan parliament, said the house had condemned the move even prior to the announcement.
“This is an unforgivable crime committed by malevolent America. The US has greatly weakened the Muslim world through its direct and proxy wars, gradually implementing its evil designs one after the other,” he told Arab News.
“The Islamic nations and Muslims should rise against this decision in all corners of the world.”
One Afghan, echoing the sentiments of an unknown number of Afghans, said that the slow reaction from President Ashraf Ghani’s government, which relies on US military and financial aid, showed that Ghani was merely an “American man” for failing to condemn Trump’s announcement like the rest of the Islamic World.
Rasoul Sayyaf, a leader for the former Mujahideen factions that fought against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, said that the US had caused Muslims “an irreparable loss.”
The Taliban, who were ousted from government by the US in 2001, also attacked the announcement.
“Finally, the US has fully exposed its colonialist face and declared enmity toward Islam as well as support for the policy of occupation and colonization of Muslim lands,” the group said in a statement.