NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a meeting. File photo

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in a meeting of NATO envoys blamed Afghanistan’s political and military leadership for the quick collapse of the former government.

Stoltenberg said the United States and NATO are not responsible for the collapse of the former government.

 “Parts of the Afghan security forces fought bravely. But they were unable to secure the country. Because ultimately, the Afghan political leadership failed to stand up to the Taliban and to achieve the peaceful solution that Afghans desperately wanted. This failure of Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today,” he said.

READ MORE

Israel airstrikes hit third consecutive night in Gaza

Drone attack hits near US forces in northern Iraq

He further said that the withdrawal of the US-NATO soldiers was preplanned, and it was not a cause for the collapse of the Afghan state.

"This failure of Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today," he said.

Ashraf Ghani, Amrullah Saleh (left) and Sarwar Danish (right) attend a ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan. File/Reuters

“We never intended to stay in Afghanistan forever. Over the past few years, from over 100,000 troops we went down to less than 10,000 — and now to zero. But what we have seen in the last few weeks was a military and political collapse at a speed which had not been anticipated,” he added.

The Taliban, however, blamed the US and NATO for the collapse of the former government, saying that Washington and the Alliance used Afghanistan to reach their own goals.

"When the Americans left, the administration collapsed automatically. Therefore, they are responsible for this crisis," said Abdulhaq Emad, a Taliban official.

US Marines board a C-130J Super Hercules as US withdraw from the Camp at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province. AFP

Aziz Maarej, a military analyst, said the US and its allies in cooperation with the leaders of the former Afghan government were involved in the collapse of the government.

"The US was in control. It was a plan of the United States, and its representative was travelling between Kabul and Qatar. Their forces were present here. They appointed corrupt officials and imposed them on the people," he said.

Former US President Donald Trump also on Sunday called the US soldiers' withdrawal from Afghanistan irresponsible.