Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has mounted a robust riposte against the growing media-fuelled war that the militant group will steamroll the military in its quest for Kabul. Striking a defiant note, Ghani asserted that the Afghan National Defence and Security forces (ANDSF) are fully capable of defending the country.
As psychological warfare between Taliban and the Afghan leadership escalated, Ghani stressed that the Afghan government has a solid plan for security and equipping ANDSF.
“If you remember, I called on Pakistan & Taliban to choose between peace & war. They chose war. Responsibility for the bloodshed is on their hands. We’ll stand up to them & defend Afghanistan,” he said on Twitter.
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The Afghans were hopeful that the postponed Istanbul conference would bring the Afghan government and the Taliban to the negotiation table to shape a new participatory government or interim government. But the Pak-backed militant group never showed up. Their absence demonstrated that the Taliban and their lobbies in the region, especially Pakistan, are confident about imposing the Taliban’s will on over 30 million innocents Afghans, who are being killed every day. This delay in talks once again strengthened the assumption of the Taliban’s goal for seizing power by force.
After the “sudden” withdrawal of the US forces, Afghan analysts feel that the US wants to inject the Taliban into the Afghan system even at the cost of the gains of the Afghan state and society during the last two decades, which includes the emergence of a constitution-based state system, thriving urban centres, and a nascent but dynamic civil society. Afghanistan has also been joining the regional and international mainstream.
But today, amidst these unsettling conditions, the Afghan people feel trapped in a purgatory – an uncertain place between the looming reality of a prolonged war and a lapsing opportunity for peace.
Also Read: Kabul tells Pakistan, TTP is yours, it is neither founded in Afghanistan nor operates on our soil
The Taliban’s claim that it has taken over a large number of districts, especially in northern Afghanistan that shares a border with Central Asian countries, has created concerns in Russia as well as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Afghan government is in constant touch with its regional partners including India. Afghan foreign minister Mohammad Haneef Atmar said in a statement that the Taliban so far had not cut ties with foreign fighters and international terrorist groups, calling it a potential threat to the regional stability and an opportunity for the terrorist networks to strengthen their foundations and given this huge threat, joint fight and practical cooperation between countries against terrorist groups has become of vital need.
Afghan experts say that the Taliban is aggressively courting the international media to their advantage. Taliban spokesperson is giving interviews to the media on a daily basis claiming victory. The group has escalated its psy-ops by taking the international media for “conducted” tours on the frontline giving their own narrative that “we did not have any agenda to harm other countries nor do we have such agenda today."
According to the Afghans, no one is writing about the Afghan forces who have been fighting the Taliban and its foreign mercenaries. “No rotation, no rest in the relentless defence of Afghanistan against external aggression and wavering commitments. The world's most battle-hardened force fighting state actors behind a grand convergence of terrorist and criminal networks. Historians and world history will remember,” says M. Ashraf Haidari, the ambassador of Afghanistan to Sri Lanka in a twitter post.
He further tweets “Mercenaries of death and destruction continue targeting any signs of progress made by Afghans over the past 20 years. BBC World, An English, TRT world et al need to report these realities as opposed to quoting Taliban propaganda on the future they are destroying today.
Mercenaries of death and destruction continue targeting any signs of progress made by Afghans over the past 20 years. @BBCWorld @AJEnglish @trtworld et al need to report these realities as opposed to quoting Taliban propaganda on the future they are destroying today.@bsarwary https://t.co/hPLj9OCDKT
— Ambassador M. Ashraf Haidari (@MAshrafHaidari) July 6, 2021
Like Haidari, many Afghans have expressed concerns that the Taliban are not sincere in seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict, pointing to the group’s continued violence and rhetoric of victory in jihad. To date, the Taliban has been “avoiding” in their statements on these matters.
