As Canadians get set to elect a new government next month, the Taliban has asked the next prime minister to stop following the US and pull his troops out of Afghanistan.
TORONTO: As Canadians get set to elect a new government next month, the Taliban has asked the next prime minister to stop following the US and pull his troops out of Afghanistan.
Warning Canada not to follow the US any more, Taliban spokesman Qari Muhammad Yussef on Tuesday said: "Yes, I know that the election is being held in Canada. That is why our attacks on Canadians have increased. My suggestion for the next prime minister is to withdraw Canadians from Afghanistan."
Canada, which has 2,500 soldiers fighting insurgents in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, has lost 97 soldiers so far. It plans to send 200 more to man newly inducted surveillance equipment.
The spokesman said the Taliban knew the stand of the current prime minister on Afghanistan but was clueless about where other parties stood.
"When any of these party leaders come to power, the first thing they must do is ask the Canadians to come from Afghanistan to Canada," he said.
The Taliban spokesman refused to make a similar appeal to the next American president.
"American elections are just a fixed game. Their policies were made 20 years ago. Whoever will be the leader, he will be playing the same role - I mean a negative role," said Yussef.
Just three weeks ago, the Taliban had issued an open letter to the Canadian public, warning that either they force their government to quit Afghanistan or face increased attacks on their troops and aid workers in the insurgency-wracked country.
The threat was issued after the killing of two Canadian aid workers in an ambush near Kabul.
In that open letter, the Taliban had said: "The Afghans did not go to Canada to kill the Canadians. Rather, it is the Canadians who came to Afghanistan to kill and torture the Afghans.
"Therefore, you have to convince your government to put an end to the occupation of Afghanistan, so that the Afghans are not killed with your hands and so that you are not killed by the hands of the Afghans."
The insurgent outfit had added that "Afghanistan has to try to have good relations with you. But if your government continues a reversed policy, the Afghans will be obliged to kill your nationals, in revenge for their brothers, their sisters, and their children. Events such as Lugar will happen again".
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