KABUL – Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Masoud Andarabi warned on Saturday against a hasty U.S. retreat from the war-ravaged country, saying that the Taliban's ties to al-Qaida remain intact and that a swift pullout would worsen global counterterrorism efforts.
In an interview with The Associated Press at the heavily fortified Interior Ministry, Andarabi said that Afghan National Security Forces backed by U.S.
assistance have so far put a squeeze on terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, including the local Islamic State affiliate.
A hasty “uncalculated withdrawal could certainly give an opportunity for those terrorists ... to threaten the world," he said from inside the compound, protected by concrete blast walls, barbed wire and a