Amidst reports of Ankara’s proposal to guard and run Kabul’s airport after the withdrawal of US and coalition forces from the country, a Taliban spokesman has said that Turkey should pull its troops from Afghanistan under the Doha agreement, adding another layer of complexity to concerns about consequences of troop pullout.

Quoted by Reuters, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said that Turkey should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan under the Doha agreement.

In a text message to Reuters, Shaheen has said that Turkey should also leave Afghanistan as it has been a NATO member. 

“Turkey was part of NATO forces in the past 20 years, so as such, they should withdraw from Afghanistan on the basis of the Agreement we signed with US on 29th Feb 2020,” Shaheen said as quoted by Reuters.

“Otherwise, Turkey is a great Islamic country. Afghanistan has had historical relations with it. We hope to have close and good relations with them as a new Islamic government is established in the country in future,” he added as quoted by Reuters.

Reuters reports that the State Department and the Turkish Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The withdrawal of US and coalition forces from Afghanistan has left many with concerns about the country’s political future as well as the safety of other countries’ diplomats once all troops leave.