Ghani said he will not allow the ongoing war to claim more lives, loss of the gains of the last 20 years, destruction of public property and continued instability…reports Asian Lite News
In an address to the nation amid the continued violence between the Taliban and Afghan government forces, President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday vowed to prevent further bloodshed in the country, adding that measures were underway for the remobilisation of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).
“Under the current situation, remobilising of the security and defence forces is our top priority and required measures are underway for this purpose,” TOLO News quoted Ghani as saying.
“I know that you are concerned about your present and future but I assure you as your president that my focus is to prevent further instability, violence and displacement of my people.
“To do this, I have started widespread consultations within and outside the government, with political leaders and international partners and I will soon share the results with the people,” the President added.
Ghani said he will not allow the ongoing war to claim more lives, loss of the gains of the last 20 years, destruction of public property and continued instability.
His remarks come as the Taliban is gaining ground across Afghanistan and has so far captured some 18 provincial capitals, including the key cities of Herat, Kandahar and Ghazni.
The security situation in the country started to deteriorate since the withdrawal of the US-led forces which began in May.
The group is now continuing its fight to overrun Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, and Maimana of Farah province.
The violence has killed and displaced thousands of Afghans across the country.
India's External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
“We are interested in Iranians also getting involved, and then other countries as well, in particular, India,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, reports Asian Lite News
Russia is interested in involving India within the framework of the expanded Troika talks on Afghanistan.
“We are interested in Iranians also getting involved, and then other countries as well, in particular, India,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists on Friday in the Rostov region, Tass reported.
“Of course, international mediators can play a more significant role here than in other conflict situations. Our efforts of the so-called Troika – Russia, the US, China – and within the framework of the expanded Troika engaging Pakistan are directed precisely at this”, Lavrov said.
Afghan security force members take part in a military operation in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province, northern Afghanistan. (Photo by Ajmal Kakar/Xinhua/IANS)
According to Lavrov, Russia maintains contact with all political forces in Afghanistan. “We are talking with all the more or less significant political forces in Afghanistan: both with the government and with the Taliban and with the representatives of Uzbeks, Tajiks, with everyone. We see how difficult it is for the Afghan society to develop consensus,” he noted.
The Russian Foreign Minister emphasized that an emergency session of the UN Security Council that Afghanistan’s representatives are requesting would be useful only if it helps launching the negotiations on the situation in that country.
“This will be useful only in case it convenes not just to talk about [the situation] and, so to say, take it out on each other but if it convenes with a prepared result which will help launching the negotiations and not trying to maneuvre,” he pointed out.
(Source twitter@DrabdullahCE)
Russia supports the political settlement in Afghanistan based on the decisions of the UN Security Council and regrets that the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia) is attempting to resolve the situation in the country by using force, Lavrov said.
“We support the Afghan settlement happening with the participation of all political, ethnic, confessional forces of the country. We support the processes approved at the UN Security Council which have now unfortunately slowed down. The state delegation has not been particularly interested in resuming talks for about year and a half – two years already. Against this background, again, regretfully, the Taliban decided to attempt to settle the situation through military force. They are taking over more and more cities and provinces. All of this is not good, it’s wrong,” he said.
Taliban is gaining ground across Afghanistan and has so far captured some 18 provincial capitals, including the key cities of Herat, Kandahar and Ghazni, reports Asian Lite News
In an address to the nation amid the continued violence between the Taliban and Afghan government forces, President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday vowed to prevent further bloodshed in the country, adding that measures were underway for the remobilisation of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).
“Under the current situation, remobilising of the security and defence forces is our top priority and required measures are underway for this purpose,” TOLO News quoted Ghani as saying.
د هیواد د روان وضعیت په اړه د جمهوررئیس محمد اشرف غني پیغام — پیام رئیس جمهور محمد اشرف غنی در خصوص وضعیت جاری در کشور pic.twitter.com/Pi7qRaU9OI
“I know that you are concerned about your present and future but I assure you as your president that my focus is to prevent further instability, violence and displacement of my people.
“To do this, I have started widespread consultations within and outside the government, with political leaders and international partners and I will soon share the results with the people,” the President added.
Ghani said he will not allow the ongoing war to claim more lives, loss of the gains of the last 20 years, destruction of public property and continued instability.
His remarks come as the Taliban is gaining ground across Afghanistan and has so far captured some 18 provincial capitals, including the key cities of Herat, Kandahar and Ghazni.
Afghan security force members set on a military vehicle during a military operation in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan (XinhuaMohammad Jan AriaIANS)
The security situation in the country started to deteriorate since the withdrawal of the US-led forces which began in May.
The group is now continuing its fight to overrun Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, and Maimana of Farah province.
The violence has killed and displaced thousands of Afghans across the country.
The capture of Ismail Khan and Afghan government officials, including the governor, police chief, head of the NDS office comes after the terrorist group seized the western city of Herat, Afghanistan’s third-biggest city, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk
Former Mujahideen leader and senior member of Jamaat-e-Islami party, Ismail Khan, whose militia helped US forces topple the Taliban in 2001, was captured on Friday by the Taliban along with other top government officials, local media citing sources said.
The capture of Khan and Afghan government officials, including the governor, police chief, head of the NDS office comes after the terrorist group seized the western city of Herat, Afghanistan’s third-biggest city.
“Sources said all government officials, including governor, police chief, head of the NDS office, ex-mujahedeen leader Mohammad Ismail Khan, the deputy minister of interior for security, and the 207 Zafar Corps commander have surrendered to the Taliban after Herat fell to the Taliban,” TOLO News said in a tweet.
On Thursday, the Taliban claimed to have seized Herat amid US troop withdrawal from the country. Herat “was also captured,” Sputnik reported citing a Taliban statement.
Buildings in the province, including the police headquarters, came under Taliban control, and government forces “laid down their arms,” it added.
Local media and journalists posted images and videos of Afghan forces fleeing from the city in the western part of Afghanistan.
Earlier the same day, the Taliban captured Ghazni, the country’s tenth provincial city to fall under Taliban control.
Afghanistan is witnessing a surge in violence as the Taliban has intensified its offensive against Afghan forces and civilians with the complete pullback of foreign forces just a few weeks away.
Due to rising violence in the country by the Taliban, the situation is deteriorating badly as the terror group has been looting people and killing civilians after capturing multiple areas from the government.
The Taliban escalated its offensive against the Afghan forces soon after the US forces started leaving Afghanistan in large numbers after the peace deal signed between Washington and the Taliban in February last year.
On Wednesday, President Ashraf Ghani appointed a new chief of army staff in an attempt to give a robust response to the terror group on the ground.
Haibatullah Alizai replaced Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai, as the new chief of army staff. Alizai previously worked as commander of the Afghan National Army Commando.
Doha meet urges political settlement
The recent envoys’ meet held in Doha over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan has called for an end to violence in the country and urged for a political settlement saying that a government-imposed by force will be a pariah state.
Participants reaffirmed that they will not recognise any government in Afghanistan that is imposed through the use of military force.
Members raised grave concerns about reports from across Afghanistan with respect to continued violence, large numbers of civilian casualties and extra-judicial killings, widespread and credible allegations of human rights violations. They urged both sides to respect human rights, including the rights of women and minorities, and work on a mechanism to deliver a representative government.
New Delhi also participated in the meet. Head of India’s delegation Jitender Pal Singh attended the Doha meet on Afghan peace on Thursday.
The meet called for a commitment not to allow any individuals or groups to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of other countries
India, US, China, Pakistan, UK, UN, EU and other countries’ envoys at the invitation of the Qatari government attended the Doha meet on Thursday aimed at assessing the status of intra-Afghan negotiations and bringing peace in Afghanistan. As the Taliban is fighting Afghanistan’s government forces extensively and has taken control of 12 provincial capitals in the country. (ANI)
A number of Afghans, and their families, who worked for Ottawa are currently inside a Canadian compound hoping to be rescued along with Canadian citizens…reports Asian Lite News
Canada is preparing to evacuate its citizens from war-torn Afghanistan through its military as the Taliban is worsening the situation in the Asian nation, a media report said on Thursday.
A number of Afghans, and their families, who worked for Ottawa are currently inside a Canadian compound hoping to be rescued along with Canadian citizens, Global News reported citing sources.
However, Ottawa has not met any decision yet on their fate but the government fears that their families will be executed by the Taliban.
Canada is now in the process of ripping out an evacuation process that includes disposing of classified items and evacuating staff, Global News added.
Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau.
On Thursday, the US also announced that it will be sending more than three battalions – two Marine, one Army — currently in the US Central Command area of responsibility within two days to Afghanistan to assist the evacuation of its staff from Kabul.
“3 infantry battalions to move to Kabul airport in the next 24-48 hours. That is roughly 3,000 troops,” said Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby in a briefing.
The Taliban on Thursday night claimed that it took control of the country’s second-largest city Kandahar after seizing the governor’s office and other administrative buildings in the city. So far, the terror group has captured 12 provincial capitals in the country.
The Taliban is extensively fighting with the Afghan government forces in an attempt to seize key cities and grab power soon after the US forces started fleeing Afghanistan under a peace deal signed between the Taliban and Washington.
McMaster a retired lieutenant general in the Army said what comes next may be worse than the bloody civil war that ravaged Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996, reports Asian Lite News
Former National Security Adviser (NSA) HR McMaster has slammed Biden administration over Afghanistan withdrawal and said that time has come to take a tough stand on Pakistan.
“We stopped actively targeting the Taliban in Afghanistan during the — what I would call, again — the capitulation negotiations,” said McMaster who worked as then-President Donald Trump’s second White House national security adviser.
Speaking at Wilson Center, a DC-based think tank event Mc Master further said, “And then, once that capitulation agreement was signed, we were hands-off with the Taliban… Meanwhile, the Taliban were marshalling for this offensive.”
McMaster a retired lieutenant general in the US Army said what comes next may be worse than the bloody civil war that ravaged Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996.
Afghan security force members set on a military vehicle during a military operation in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan (XinhuaMohammad Jan AriaIANS)
“This will be that crisis on steroids,” the former head of the National Security Agency asserted. “Why? You know, in 2001, the population of Kabul was 500,000. Today, it’s over five million,” said the former NSA.
Having served the US army for 34 years, the veteran pinned down Pakistan stating that security in Pakistan is ‘inexorably connected’ to what happens in Afghanistan. “It’s time for tough stance on Pakistan is, who’ve helped perpetuate the threat from Taliban and used other terrorist groups as an arm of their foreign policy,” Mc Master added.
The former NSA Chief also blamed China for its vested interest in the region and overt support to the Taliban as well as Pakistan, through its debt diplomacy (Belt and Road Initiative projects in the region).
“China wants to just continue to keep Pakistan on life support financially and economically,” said Mc Master. “China should have an interest in Pakistan no longer supporting terror groups”, added the former NSA.
McMaster fears the US withdrawal could have repercussions not just in Afghanistan but also could result in an unstable South Asia region.
“They (terror groups) can initiate a cycle of sectarian violence in India,” the former national security adviser warned.
An Afghan special force member attends a military operation against Taliban fighters in Kandak Anayat village of Kunduz city, Afghanistan, July 23, 2021. (Photo by Ajmal Kakar/Xinhua)
Govt to send three battalions to evacuate embassy staff
The US government has announced that it will deploy thousands of troops to the Kabul airport to support the American Embassy staff drawdown as the security situation in war-torn continues to deteriorate.
“We are further reducing our civilian footprint in Kabul, in light of the evolving security situation. We expect to draw down to a core diplomatic presence in Afghanistan in the coming weeks,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price as saying during a briefing.
“In order to facilitate this reduction, the Department of Defense will temporarily deploy additional personnel to the Hamid Karzai International Airport,” he added.
Price said that the Embassy remains open, and the US plans to continue diplomatic work in the country.
Earlier in the day, the Embassy urged Americans to leave the country immediately.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin spoke on the phone with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani to coordinate the plan.
US soldiers prepare to depart from Kunduz, Afghanistan. (Photo Brian Harris_Planet Pix_ZUMA_dpa_IANS)
Also on Thursday, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters that three infantry battalions, about 3,000 troops, will be deployed to Kabul airport within 24 to 48 hours.
In addition, around 1,000 personnel of a joint US Army and Air Force support team will be sent to Qatar to facilitate the processing of Afghan applicants for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV).
An infantry brigade combat team will arrive in Kuwait next week in case additional forces are needed.
“This is a temporary mission with a narrow focus,” said Kirby, calling the move “a prudent thing to do given the rapidly deteriorating security situation in and around Kabul”.
According to media reports, currently, there are about 650 US troops in the country and about 1,400 American staff at the embassy.
The announcement of embassy staff reduction and military reinforcements came as Taliban militants made rapid military advances across the country.
The insurgent group captured Ghazni city, the capital of eastern Ghazni province earlier on Thursday, bringing the number of provincial capitals captured so far to 10 in less than a week.
The situation in the war-torn country has been worsening since the withdrawal of the US-led forces starting on May 1.
Many Afghan cities and about half of the country’s 34 provinces in recent weeks have seen heavy battles and street fighting between Afghan forces and Taliban militants.
President Joe Biden ordered the US military to end its mission in Afghanistan by the end of this month.
He said on Tuesday that the US would continue to provide air support and military equipment to Afghanistan while noting Afghan forces must “fight for themselves, fight for their nation”.
“We’re going to continue to keep our commitment. But I do not regret my decision,” he said.
Since the withdrawal of the US-led forces on May 1, the Taliban has continued to gain ground in Afghanistan and it caused humanitarian crisis …reports Asian Lite News
Relief workers in Afghanistan are determining the needs of 18.4 million people out of the nearly 40-million population as intense fighting between the Taliban and government is continuing in the war-torn nation, UN humanitarians said.
“Many people are arriving in Kabul and other large cities, seeking safety from the conflict and other threats,” Xinhua news agency reported on Friday citing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as saying.
“Inter-agency assessments are ongoing in the field focusing on new displacement, conflict, floods, gender issues and protection monitoring to determine the humanitarian needs and immediate response requirements,” it said.
“The humanitarian community — both the United Nations and non-governmental organizations — remains dedicated to stay and deliver in Afghanistan, but the security environment is highly complex and challenging.”
Meanwhile, Stephane Dujarric, the chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters at the UN headquarters on Thursday that the “the situation on the ground is very dynamic”.
“We’re doing everything we can to ensure the safety and protection of our staff in this very complex situation on the ground.”
He said the US has almost 3,400 national staff and about 300 international staff in Afghanistan.
Another 420 international staff are working remotely outside the country, many because of Covid-19.
“We are in touch with all parties to the conflict, reminding them of their responsibility, not only to protect civilian infrastructure but of the inviolability of UN premises, of the need and their responsibilities to ensure that UN staff and UN premises are kept safe,” the spokesman added.
Since the withdrawal of the US-led forces on May 1, the Taliban has continued to gain ground in Afghanistan.
On Friday, the Taliban took control over the key southern Afghan cities of Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, after weeks of heavy clashes.
The insurgent group captured Ghazni city, the capital of eastern Ghazni province on Thursday, bringing the number of provincial capitals captured so far to more than 10 in less than a week.
The participants called upon all Afghan warring parties to act in accordance with these guidelines and build upon them in the future political settlement…reports Asian Lite News
Representatives of countries taking part in the Doha meeting on Afghanistan have called on the Afghan warring parties to expedite the peace process, reach a political settlement and comprehensive ceasefire as quickly as possible, stressing their rejection of any government imposed by force.
Issued on Thursday evening at the final session of the meeting, a joint statement made it clear that the participants have agreed on the need to accelerate the peace process as a very urgent and key issue for negotiating concrete proposals between the Afghan government and the Taliban, reports Xinhua news agency.
The participants said that they would not recognise any government in Afghanistan that is forcibly imposed and are much concerned about the ongoing violence, large numbers of civilian casualties, allegations of human rights violations, and destruction of infrastructure, which prolongs conflict and makes reconciliation efforts more difficult.
Afghan security forces inspect the site of a car bombing in Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan. (Photo by Sanaullah SeiamXinhuaIANS)
They pledged to provide assistance to reconstruction process once a viable political settlement is reached between the two sides.
The statement stressed the guidelines of the political settlement, which include all-out governance, respect for human rights including the rights of women and minorities, mechanism for forming a representative government, the commitment not to make Afghan territory a threat to other countries, and respect for the international law, including international humanitarian one.
The participants called upon all Afghan parties to act in accordance with these guidelines and build upon them in the future political settlement, according to the statement.
At the invitation of Qatar, special envoys and representatives from China, Russia, Pakistan, the US and the UN, as well as other regional countries and international organisations, have gathered in Doha since Tuesday to hold talks over the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
Through exchanging views with the representatives of the Afghan government and Taliban, the participants have been discussing contributions that the international community can make to helping the peace process.
Since the withdrawal of the US-led forces on May 1, the Taliban has continued to gain ground in Afghanistan.
On Friday, the Taliban took control over the key southern Afghan cities of Lashkar Gah and Kandahar, after weeks of heavy clashes.
The insurgent group captured Ghazni city, the capital of eastern Ghazni province on Thursday, bringing the number of provincial capitals captured so far to more than 10 in less than a week.
The Pakistan Prime Minister has simply confirmed, which insiders always knew, that Islamabad and the Taliban were conjoined twins, and any attempt to separate the two was fiction, scripted by the generals occupying the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, amplified by their bullhorns in high places, reports Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha
Pakistan’s garrulous Prime Minister Imran Khan has made an astounding foot-in-the mouth statement. Speaking on behalf of the Taliban, he revealed that the extremist will not hold peaceful negotiations so long as Afghanistan’s elected president remained in power.
By making, some would say, a not-so-smart statement, the Pakistani Prime Minister has blown up the cover. He has simply confirmed, which insiders always knew, that Islamabad and the Taliban were conjoined twins, and any attempt to separate the two was fiction, scripted by the generals occupying the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, amplified by their bullhorns in high places.
In an open confession that the Taliban is in touch with Pakistan on the inside, the Pakistani Prime Minister made it clear that the Taliban will not talk to the present Afghan government led by the president Ashraf Ghani. According to the Dawn newspaper, Khan told the media that he did try to persuade the Taliban leaders when they were visiting Pakistan to reach a settlement.
“The condition is that as long as President Ashraf Ghani is there, we (Taliban) are not going to talk to the Afghan government,” Khan said, quoting the Taliban leaders as telling him.
Talking to foreign journalists in Islamabad, the Pakistani PM said he tried to persuade the Taliban to negotiate with the Afghan government, but Taliban leaders refused to talk about the political settlement, saying that it is difficult in the current Afghan situation. But it was equally obvious that no attempt was made to pressurise the Taliban, dependent on Pakistani supplies lines to change course.
According to Pakistani sources, Imran Khan told foreign journalists that the group viewed Ghani and his government as US puppets and that was the reason why the Doha talks had been “stalled” by the Taliban.
When asked about Pakistan providing safe heavens to the Taliban and Pakistani soldiers fighting in Afghanistan, Khan once again denied and called this anti-Pakistan propaganda.
An Afghan security force member inspects the weapons handed over by Taliban militants in Herat, Afghanistan, . (Photo by Elaha SahelXinhuaIANS)
“When they say that Pakistan gave safe havens, sanctuaries to Taliban, where are these safe havens? There are camps of 100,000 people. And Taliban are not some military outfits. They are normal civilians. And if there are some civilians in these camps, how is Pakistan supposed to hunt these people down?” Khan repeated the same argument. He added the world has pressurised Pakistan to take military action. No country has done more than Pakistan to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table and it is very unfair to blame Pakistan for what is happening in Afghanistan.
Blaming the US and president Joe Biden, Khan said that the US is currently putting pressure on Pakistan to influence the Taliban to come back to the negotiation table. But that is not possible.
Pakistan is useful only in the context of the “mess” it is leaving behind in Afghanistan after 20 years of fighting, Khan observed.
The former cricketer is miffed with US president Joe Biden has not called him — a call that he has been waiting for since Biden took charge of the US presidency in January this year. Khan’s problem is that Biden has been talking to his neighbours — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.
Afghan security forces inspect the site of a car bombing in Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan. (Photo by Sanaullah SeiamXinhuaIANS)
“I think that the Americans have decided that India is their strategic partner now, and I think that’s why there’s a different way of treating Pakistan now,” Khan observed.
In an interview with The Financial Times, National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf said Pakistan has other “options” if President Biden keeps ignoring “calls” from the Pakistani PM.
For the last two days #SanctionPakistan hashtag has been trending on twitter with more than eight lakh tweets as the Taliban’s onslaughts on Afghans are on rise. Netizens believe that without Pakistan’s active support, the Taliban could not have come so far. One of the main proponents of the trend has been a prominent Afghan journalist Habib Khan Totakhil.
Afghan security force members set on a military vehicle during a military operation in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan (XinhuaMohammad Jan AriaIANS)
“If you are Afghan or a friend of Afghanistan, speak up,” he tweeted.
Pakistani Information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain and NSA Moeed Yusuf were quick to blame India for the tweets.
Releasing a “Deep Analytics Report” on “Anti-State Trends prepared by the Digital Media Wing of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Yusuf said that Pakistan will expose those who are behind this anti-Pakistan campaign.
Reacting to this, Reham Khan said in a post, “I’m embarrassed to share this by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting of Pakistan. Naming me & others as Anti State because we raise human rights violations, the issue of missing persons & mysterious killings is only humiliating the state. Don’t defame Pakistan officially.” (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani inspecting the guard of honor in Islamabad. (XinhuaPIDIAN
Pakistan ‘has a long history of using militant proxies to challenge India’s military superiority in the region – particularly in Kashmir and Afghanistan. It maintained support for the Taliban and related factions such as the Haqqani network after 2001 to counter what it viewed as a pro-Indian stance from Afghanistan’s new leaders’ … A special report by Tessa Toms
In the recent visit to the United States, during an interview, when asked about Pakistan’s relations and influence over the Taliban, Pakistan’s National Security Advisor, Moeed Yusuf was reported saying they have minimum leverage.
Such a statement clearly highlights the level of direct connections between the Pakistani State and the Taliban. Moreover, support for Taliban coming from the highest level of the Pakistani establishment, that of Prime Minister Imran Khan does definitely confirm that these connections exist and are deep rooted at that.
In a recent interview with American broadcaster PBS, Mr. Khan referred to the Taliban as “normal civilians”. His response came as a defense on being questioned over longstanding US and Afghan government accusations that Pakistan provides a safe haven to the Taliban.
Recently, in a gathering of the Pashtun Tahafoz Movement (PTM), its leader Manzoor Ahamd Pashteen accused Pakistan of its support to the Taliban in Afghanistan and sought the Pakistani government to end its interference in Afghanistan’s internal issues. Concurrently, Pashteen also publically challenged Taliban to stop it’s companionship with the Pakistani government claiming that the country is not a friend but a spoiler in Afghanistan.
Addressing thousands in Makin of southern Waziristan, where the PTM gathering was held, Pashteen reiterated that the, “soil of the Pashtun people in Pakistan has always been utilized for heinous purposes to insecure Afghanistan and added that the very policy of warfare is intolerable for them”.
Further, Pashteen professed that he will not allow Pakistan to use their soil against Afghanistan. Recently, an editorial in the Afghanistan Times discussed that, ‘Pakistan has always supported the Taliban as a destructive force under its proxy war to fully destroy Afghanistan.’
It called for a ‘concerted international diplomatic and political action’ to end Islamabad’s proxy war in order to prevent wide scale massacre of the Afghan people. It reiterated that, ‘Pakistan can’t deny this because the strongest voices opposing this proxy war are in Pakistan that included members of the country’s National Assembly.’
Pakistan is fearing the rise of Afghanistan as a regional power. The unification of Pashtuns and Balochs living on the other side of Durand Line has alarmed Pakistan. Durand Line – the bone of contention between Afghanistan and Pakistan that divides the culturally and traditionally united Pashtuns and Balochs into two countries is once again in news due to the demand for Great Afghanistan.
Durand Line was fixed by British civil servant Sir Henry Mortimer Durand and the then Afghan Emir, Abdur Rahman Khan in 1893. It was established in order to mark the respective spheres of influence and also to improve the diplomatic ties between the British establishment in India and the Afghan Kingdom. Afghanistan has opposed the move since then.
Forty years ago Afghanistan experienced its second military coup d’etat within five years. This was a golden chance for the Pakistani government to destabilize the Afghan government, abolish the government’s infrastructure and the national army. This would ensure that Afghanistan would not be as powerful to lopsidedly determine the borders with Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s Vice President Amrullah Saleh recently tweeted: “The propaganda stunts won’t change the reality & improve Pak’s image in my country. The reality is that Pak army is the architect, strategic master & low profile supplier of the ongoing full scale terror invasion in my country.”
Further, in a response to a tweet by Pakistani NSA Yusuf on spoilers in Kabul, He tweeted: “The National Security / Insecurity Advisor of Pakistan believes Quetta Shura is elected and the government in Kabul is imposed. No effort by him or his colleagues will wash the stain of Afg blood from the forehead of Pak agencies. GHQ/ISI supply trail to terror must stop.”
This is not just a mere perception from within the region but also an observation made by many scholars who are studying the region and its geopolitical dynamics. European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), a think tank, based in Netherlands stated that Taliban could not have reached the level it has today without Pakistan’s unerring backing and support.
Further, it was reported that an academic research paper titled ‘Regional Powers and Post-NATO Afghanistan’, released by the NATO Defense College (NDC) argued that, ‘Pakistan’s main aim in Afghanistan is to install an interim government which includes the Taliban.’
It also noted that that Pakistan ‘has a long history of using militant proxies to challenge India’s military superiority in the region – particularly in Kashmir and Afghanistan. It maintained support for the Taliban and related factions such as the Haqqani network after 2001 to counter what it viewed as a pro-Indian stance from Afghanistan’s new leaders’.
The International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS), a think tank based in Canada too in one of its reports ‘Pakistan duplicity vis-a-vis Afghanistan’ underscored and stressed that the radical elements in both Afghanistan and Pakistan are on a ‘greater sense of legitimacy and control over the political situation due to the tacit backing of the Pakistani authorities’.
The report observed that, ‘about 7,200 Pakistani terrorists are fighting along the Taliban in Afghanistan.’
The report underlined that, ‘Terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and from other Pakistan-based groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Jamaat-ul- Arhar (JuA), Lashkar-e-Islam and Al Badr have also been spotted fighting alongside the Taliban in sizeable numbers.’
Further, it was also reported that IFFRAS highlighted ‘a spurt in fund-raising and recruitment by the Afghan Taliban’ within Pakistan, especially in Balochistan. This is facilitated by many of Taliban’s top leaders, who are known to be based in Balochistan and form a part of the Quetta Shura. This point was also highlighted by the editorial in the Afghanistan Times, which stated that ‘Pakistan has been the Taliban’s safest place.’
Pakistan top security officials are reported to admit that Pakistan has given Taliban access to its hospitals, homes, schools, food, money and security and have provided the same to each Taliban fighter and their families. Moreover, Pakistan’s support for Taliban goes to the extent of allowing fund raising in Pakistan. Bizarre as it is, still Pakistan expects the world to buy on to its description of unflinching denial of support to the Taliban. Further, there were news reports that Taliban’s ‘next generation of leaders are being taught in neighbouring Pakistan, financed by the state’ and that the Haqqania Seminary is a hotbed of terrorism.
Afghanistan’s NSA, Hamdullah Mohib in his recent remarks said that “Every year, the Taliban were defeated in Afghanistan but they had an opportunity to recuperate, to re-recruit people from Madrasas in Pakistan and bring them back the next year. This year, we estimate that 10,000 fighters have come in from Pakistani madrasas to fight in Afghanistan this fighting season and intelligence shows that they could be as many as 15,000 more new recruits coming towards Afghanistan.”
Angered by Pakistan’s support for Taliban and infiltration of terrorists from across Pakistan resulting in the deteriorating situation in their country, Afghani people have been holding protests inside Afghanistan such as the PTM gathering as well as abroad, like the incident where many Afghani people staged agitations in front of the Pakistan Embassy in London. There is a common feeling across the spectrum that Pakistan wants to keep Afghanistan ‘feeble, debilitated and divided’.
The international community must force Pakistan to take genuine practical steps to shut down Taliban bases and put an end to the Taliban recruitment from Pakistan, or else one day it will destroy Pakistan as well.
