Post-9/11 Afghanistan war ''stigma'' on West: Taliban

Kabul, Sep 10: The post-9/11 invasion of Afghanistan by the US and its allies "will remain a permanent stigma on the face of Western democracy", the Taliban said today (Sep 10).

The Islamist grouping, which refused to give up Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in the wake of the outrage 10 years ago Sunday, also said the people of Afghanistan had "endless stamina for a long war" and would "send the Americans to the dustbin of history".

In a long statement issued in Persian and English, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said the attacks on the US in 2001 had been used, unjustly, as a "pretext" for the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan.

"Each year, the 9/11 reminds the Afghans of an event in which they had no role whatsoever, but, using this as a pretext and a clout, the American colonialism shed blood of tens of thousands of miserable and innocent Afghans. Still the atrocity has been continuing," the English language version said.

The Taliban had called for an "impartial" investigation into the events of 9/11 but the US and its allies had instead responded by "sending cruise missiles, poisonous and depleted uranium embedded weapons instead", it said.

"It will remain a permanent stigma on the face of the Western democracy that America and her Allies martyred tens of thousands of Muslims under the pretext of this ambiguous and murky event.

"Children, old men, women and even infant of a few days are among the victims. They destroyed our villages, orchards, standing plantations and even townships under the unjustified name of war on terror."

PTI