July 9, 2021: The Taliban’s political office said Thursday that the group had not tried to seize power militarily in Afghanistan, Russia’s Tass News Agency reported.
Security in Afghanistan is deteriorating rapidly as the Taliban take advantage, while the United States withdraws its forces after 20 years. The group’s political office also said the insurgent group would not attack the Afghan-Tajik border. A delegation from the Afghan Taliban’s political office was in Moscow on Thursday, Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted a source as saying. No further details were given in the report.
On Thursday, Afghan government forces regained control of the Taliban-held western provincial capital and deployed hundreds of new troops, according to the Defense Ministry. It said some fighting was taking place on the shores of Qala-e-Naw, the capital of Badghis Province, bordering the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan. In addition, Afghan government forces regained control of the western provincial capital, which had been held by the Taliban the day before, and hundreds of fresh troops have been deployed in the area, the defense ministry said.
It said some fighting was taking place on the outskirts of Qala e Naw the capital of Badghis Province, bordering the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan. Insurgents on Wednesday seized key government buildings in the city, including the police headquarters, as part of the Taliban’s dramatic advance, with foreign forces withdrawing from Afghanistan after a 20-year intervention. “The city is completely under our control (back) and we are conducting operations against the Taliban on the outskirts of the city,” Defense Ministry spokesman Fawad Aman said. The ministry said 69 Taliban fighters were killed in fresh operations on the banks of Qala a Naw. It was first introduced by Islamist insurgents in their recent operation in the provincial capital.
The ministry said on Twitter that government forces had also seized a large quantity of Taliban weapons and ammunition. The rest of Badghis Province is under Taliban control. Western security officials say the Taliban have seized more than 100 districts in Afghanistan. The Taliban say they have seized 200 districts in 34 provinces, half of the country. Local officials said some security officers had surrendered to the Taliban, and the insurgents had released hundreds of prisoners and opened the doors of the city jail. Most were recaptured, officials said.
Spokesman Fawad Aman said on Twitter that hundreds of commandos had left for the city overnight to launch a “large-scale operation”. The attack on Qala-e-Naw came as the Taliban launched a nationwide but mostly siege operation in the north, capturing dozens of districts since early May. The fighting appears to be spreading in Herat, where authorities have acknowledged defeat in two districts at the hands of insurgents.
Human rights group Human Rights Watch said the insurgents were forcing people out of their homes in the northern areas, which they had seized. “The Taliban’s retaliatory attacks on pro-government citizens are a warning about the danger of future atrocities,” said Patricia Gossman, HRW’s associate director. “There is no solution to the war in Afghanistan.” Top Taliban officials and a group of mainstream Afghan politicians who took part in Iran’s broker talks in Tehran agreed that there was no alternative to peace.
In a joint statement issued after two days of intra-Afghan talks by the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the two Afghan sides acknowledged the “dangers of continuing the war” and its “impact on the health of the nation,” Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said in a series of tweets.
Both sides agreed that war was “not the solution to the Afghan problem” and that all efforts for a “political and peaceful solution” should be coordinated. They also agreed to discuss at their next meeting issues that need “further consultation and clarification”, such as establishing a mechanism for the transition from war to lasting peace, the Islamic system of government and ways to achieve it.
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Russia-led bloc ready to act if Afghan border unravels, Taliban reassures Moscow
