A member of the Taliban stands guard during the execution of three men in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, in 2015. Reuters file

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The Taliban had called for special prayers in the hope President Donald Trump would call for a complete withdrawal from Afghanistan, members of the group told NBC News.

Trump ended up taking the opposite path on Monday and backed a continued military presence that centered around empowering his generals and squeezing neighboring Pakistan, a U.S. ally that has often been accused of harboring and enabling terror groups.

This angered many in Pakistan, with several lawmakers publicly denouncing Trump for calling them out on the world stage.

But the Taliban, which has regained control of swaths of the country since being toppled in 2001, claimed that despite Trump going against their wishes they were happy to keep fighting in America's longest war.