Afghans to ‘decide their future’

US President Joe Biden promised Afghan leader Ashraf Ghani strong support during a White House meeting  Friday but made clear he was not planning to slow the US withdrawal after nearly two decades of fighting. 

Less than three months before his deadline for the removal of all troops, Biden told Ghani that Afghans had to determine their own fate even as they face a mounting offensive by Taliban insurgents.

Biden told the Afghan president, "Afghans are going to have to decide their future, what they want."

"The senseless violence, it has to stop. It's going to be very difficult."

Ghani was in Washington along with Abdullah Abdullah, who oversees Kabul's peace negotiations with the Taliban, amid rising uncertainty over the group's recent gains and the possibility of their return to power.

The extremists subjected the population to a brutal version of Islam when they ruled from 1996-2001.

Sitting next to Biden, Ghani nsisted that no one should  count his government out, amid reports that the Taliban could possibly take over Kabul within six months of the US departure.

Ghani said Afghan government forces retook six districts, in the north and south, on Friday, reversing recent Taliban gains.

Ghani met with top members of Congress, the CIA, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on his two-day visit to Washington.

Washington is expecting him to reach a negotiated settlement on power sharing with the Taliban before it is too late.

The US pullout could be mostly completed next month. Biden is expected to reaffirm billions of dollars in US aid for the country, and make arrangements for US civilian contractors -- essential to keep the Afghan air force flying -- to remain there.

The administration is also working on a plan to evacuate some 18,000 Afghan interpreters and others who worked for US forces and who are under personal threat from the Taliban.

Another key issue was how to guarantee the security of US diplomats who remain in the country. A large contingent of US Marines is expected to remain to protect the embassy.