Taliban has intensified its offensive against civilians, Afghan defence and security forces as foreign forces are withdrawing from the war-torn country….reports Asian Lite News
Anti-Pakistan sentiments has been growing among the Afghan diaspora amid advances by Taliban in Afghanistan.
A Pakistan social media activist Akhunzada Mahmood Sayed was beaten by Afghan nationals in Riyadh on July 16 for posting pro-Pakistani material on social media.
The victim had lodged an FIR against Afghan individuals in the local police station.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Embassy in Saudi Arabia has approached the aggrieved party seeking an out of court settlement.
On July 21 after an Afghan national was beaten by some Pakistani community members in Riyadh, elders of the Pashtun community were invited to Pakistan Embassy to de-escalate the tension between the Pashtun community members and Afghan nationals residing in Saudi Arabia.
Taliban has intensified its offensive against civilians, Afghan defence and security forces as foreign forces are withdrawing from the war-torn country.
Moreover, the ties between the two sides have deteriorated since the daughter of the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan was briefly kidnapped on her way home in Islamabad on July 16.
Thereafter, Kabul recalled its ambassador from Islamabad, demanding punishment for those responsible.
Since May, the Taliban has taken control of Afghanistan’s crucial border crossings with Iran, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan.
The Taliban now claim to control about half of the country’s roughly 400 districts. However, verifying such claims is difficult.
Friendly parties turn foes
The Awami National Party and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl, which were friendly earlier, have now turned foes with the former blaming the latter’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, for the killing of millions of Pakhtuns and bringing about anarchy.
The confrontation between the nationalist and religious parties started after Fazl, during a public meeting in South Waziristan tribal district on Sunday, felicitated the Afghan Taliban over their military gains in the country, Dawn reported.
“Why not congratulate [Afghan] Taliban as they have defeated the US in Afghanistan after 20 years of war? America and its allies (Nato) called them (Taliban) terrorists, but I always called them Mujahid and will do so in future as well,” the JUI-F chief told his supporters, including students of seminaries, in Makeen area of South Waziristan tribal district, reported Dawn.
He asked his critics to understand the JUI-F’s stand about the Afghan situation and said his party had been calling for dialogue among warring factions.
Fazl said he had urged the Afghan Taliban to come to the negotiating table despite the recent military gains.
Without naming the ANP, Fazl said some people were blindly following America’s policies in the region.
“Don’t expect this from Fazlur Rehman,” he said, adding that nationalists should not teach him how to do politics.
Reacting to the statement of the JUI-F chief, ANP central secretary general Main Iftikhar Hussain said Fazl had the blood of hundreds of thousands of Afghanistan’s Pakhtuns on his hands.
In a statement issued in Peshawar on Monday, Hussain said history couldn’t be distorted as the JUI-F chief and his allies supported Haqqanis and Osama bin Laden to continue turmoil in Afghanistan.
“Your (Fazl’s) hands are soaked in the blood of millions of Pakhtuns and you took financial benefits in the name of jihad in Afghanistan,” he alleged.
The ANP leader said the JUI-F leader was supporting the Afghan Taliban at the behest of the establishment.
He added that former interior minister Naseerullah Babar and a former director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence had revealed in their books that Fazl was the supporter of the Afghan Taliban.
“When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Maulana Fazlur Rehman declared it jihad, while the ANP leaders called it anarchy,” he said.
Meanwhile, ANP central secretary general Mian Iftikhar Hussain addressed a gathering in Durmai Top area of Buner district and said peaceful Afghanistan was vital for peace in Pakistan and rest of region.
He asked the governments of Pakistan, US, China, Iran, Turkey and Russia to play their due role to resolve the Afghan issue. (ANI)