US president Trump says he could 'wipe out Afghanistan in ten days' to end war

"I have plans on Afghanistan that, if I wanted to win that war, Afghanistan would be wiped off the face of the Earth. It would be gone," Trump told reporters.

"It would be over in - literally, in 10 days. And I don't want to do, I don't want to go that route," he added.

Trump's comments followed a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House, during which Trump said Pakistan could help broker a political settlement to end the years-long war in Afghanistan.

His comments sparked upset and outrage in Afghanistan, where the war-weary and traumatised population is already worried about a precipitous pull-out of US forces and whether that means a return to Taliban rule and a spiralling civil war.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday the US should clarify remarks president Trump made about Afghanistan.

"The government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan calls for clarification on the US president's statements expressed at a meeting with the Pakistan prime minister, via diplomatic means and channels," Ghani's office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The US leader made several surprising statements, including that Pakistan would help the US "extricate" itself from Afghanistan, adding there was "tremendous potential" in the relationship between Washington and Islamabad.

Afghanistan has long blamed Pakistan for fuelling the Afghan conflict and for supporting the Taliban, and Ghani is furious about being continually sidelined by the US in ongoing peace talks with the Taliban.

Pakistan was the Taliban's chief sponsor when it took power in neighbouring Afghanistan during the 1990s.

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Its influence over the group, which has waged an insurgency since it was ousted from power by US-led forces in 2001, is seen as key in facilitating a political settlement with Ghani's government.

Everyday Afghans took to social media to vent after Trump's comments.

"I feel shocked, threatened and humiliated. We trusted Americans to help us in the war against terror, and now President Trump is threatening us with genocide," Facebook user Mohd Farhad wrote. 

Trump's peace envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, meanwhile arrived in Kabul on Tuesday ahead of what will be the eighth round of direct talks he has held with the Taliban.

Those discussions are expected to get underway in Doha in the coming days, with Ghani and his administration once again locked out.

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