By Frud Bezhan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 7, 2020
Major Afghan cities have been largely spared from the deadly militant attacks that once struck them regularly.
The Taliban agreed to stop bombing urban centers under a landmark peace deal signed with the United States in February. The militant group largely complied, shifting its focus to the vast countryside, where it has wreaked havoc for months.
But a spate of deadly militant attacks in Kabul has shattered the relative calm in the heavily fortified capital, prompting accusations by Afghan officials that the Taliban had broken its pledge.
The Taliban denied involvement as a local offshoot of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group took responsibility for the mayhem — which included a pair of attacks that took the lives of dozens of students.
But experts say the attacks were likely carried out by the Haqqani network, the lethal arm of the Taliban. They say the high-profile assaults expose possible divisions within the Taliban over peace efforts aimed at ending the 19-year war in Afghanistan.
A growing number of Taliban leaders, commanders, and factions are opposed to peace, including Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the powerful Haqqani network and one of the Taliban’s three deputy leaders.
“The attacks in Kabul were carried out mostly, or at least in part, by the Haqqani network without the authorization of the Quetta Shura,” says Antonio Giustozzi, a Taliban expert with the Royal United Services Institute in London, referring to the leadership council of the Taliban based in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.
“It is convenient for the Kabul authorities to simply attribute the attacks to the Taliban, but today relations between the Haqqani network and the Quetta Shura are very poor,” Giustozzi adds.
On October 24, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the entrance of a tutoring center in Dasht-e Barchi, an area in Kabul mostly populated by the Shi’ite Hazara minority. At least 24 people — mostly students — were killed and more than 50 were wounded.
At least 22 people, mostly students, were gunned down during an hours-long assault on Kabul University on November 2, the largest educational institution in the war-torn country.
“The Quetta Shura does not stand to reap any benefit from such attacks in Kabul,” Giustozzi says. “If anything, these attacks push the Hazara community to rearm, which is not in the Taliban’s interest.”
‘Tactical Accommodation’
Taliban and IS militants have fought deadly turf wars in Afghanistan since the offshoot appeared in Afghanistan in 2014. But experts say there has also been collaboration between IS and the Haqqani network.
A United Nations report published in June said the IS offshoot “remains capable of mounting attacks in various parts of the country, including Kabul, but some of those claims may have arisen wholly or partly from a tactical accommodation with the Haqqani network.”
“We know that IS and the Haqqani network have a close relationship and overlapping membership,” says Yelena Biberman, associate professor of political science at Skidmore College in New York. “It is possible that IS and the Haqqani network are working together on this.”
Afghan officials have repeatedly alleged collusion between the Taliban and IS militants, casting doubt over the capacity of IS militants to independently execute sophisticated attacks. But U.S. officials have batted away those allegations.
IS militants have continued to claim credit for deadly urban attacks even as the group has been significantly weakened following U.S. air strikes, operations by Afghan forces, and fighting between the Taliban and IS militants in the past year.
The U.S. military said in November that IS strongholds in eastern Afghanistan had been “dismantled” and hundreds of its fighters had surrendered. Afghan officials have also claimed to have arrested several key leaders of the group in recent months.
Split ‘Highly Likely’
In an op-ed published in February in The New York Times, Haqqani voiced support for the peace deal with the United States. But experts say Haqqani, who has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, is opposed to peace.
Under the U.S.-Taliban agreement, all foreign forces are to leave Afghanistan by May 2021 in return for counterterrorism guarantees from the Taliban, which has pledged to negotiate a permanent cease-fire and a power-sharing agreement with the Afghan government.
The Haqqani network, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, has close links with Al-Qaeda. Under the deal with the United States, the Taliban pledged to clamp down on foreign terrorists.
The Haqqani network has traditionally had strong ties to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. But experts say the faction has forged closer ties with Afghanistan’s western neighbor, Iran — a U.S. adversary.
The Haqqanis are among a growing number of Taliban factions to oppose peace.
A breakaway Taliban faction known as the Hezb-e Walayat-e Islami (Party of Islamic Guardianship) split from the mainstream Taliban soon after the deal was reached with the United States.
Other Taliban leaders who oppose the peace efforts include Mullah Qayum Zakir, a powerful battlefield commander and the military chief of the Taliban until 2014. Mullah Zakir leads a Taliban faction along with Ibrahim Sadar, the Taliban’s former military commission chief and a powerful field commander.
These factions oppose a more moderate Taliban camp that favors a negotiated end to the war.
The moderate faction is led by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the new and ambitious military chief who has taken over the group’s estimated $1.6 billion business empire.
The young Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, is believed to want to take over the leadership of the extremist group.
He is backed by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban and a former deputy to Mullah Omar. Baradar, who spent years in a Pakistani prison, is the Taliban’s political chief and was the lead negotiator in talks with the United States that produced the agreement.
Mullah Yaqoob’s appointment was part of the militant group’s biggest leadership reshuffle in years and seen as an attempt by leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada to remove potential spoilers and tighten his grip on the group’s military and political wings ahead of peace talks with the Afghan government that began in September.
Biberman, the author of Gambling With Violence: State Outsourcing Of War In Pakistan And India, says the rivalry between the Mullah Yaqoob and Haqqani factions is spilling onto the battlefield.
“As violent groups compete for dominance, they often engage in ‘outbidding,’ using extreme or attention-grabbing violence to signal their strength and commitment to the cause,” she says. “This serves to gain the support of those who are uncertain about which group is more likely to deliver on its promises.”
Biberman provides the example of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, militant groups that turned to extreme tactics like suicide bombings as a result of the competition they faced from each other and, later, other groups in the region.
Giustozzi, who has written numerous books on the Taliban, says the Haqqani network’s split from the mainstream Taliban is “highly likely, unless the Americans suspend the military withdrawal or the intra-Afghan peace talks fully collapse.”
‘Internal Decision’
Some observers say divisions within the Taliban were not yet visible on the ground.
The Taliban, they say, has remained a relatively coherent fighting force despite succession crises, competition from the global appeal from the IS group, and a deadly war against foreign and Afghan forces for nearly two decades.
Observers say the Taliban has been successful in spinning the peace deal with the United States as an outright victory, helping to keep opposition to the agreement in check.
But the Taliban’s unity is likely to be tested when they negotiate the details of a permanent cease-fire and a power-sharing formula with the Afghan government.
The Taliban has pursued a fight-and-talk strategy, hoping to gain leverage in talks with gains on the battlefield. The militants have intensified attacks across Afghanistan even as they negotiate a political settlement with government representatives.
While the Taliban has ramped up pressure on Afghan forces in the countryside, the militant group has also broken its deal with the United States by attacking major cities and highways.
Even before its alleged involvement in attacks in Kabul, the Taliban had launched a brazen offensive in early October to seize control of Lashkar Gah, the second-largest city in southern Afghanistan.
Rahmatullah Amiri, a Kabul-based political analyst, says the Taliban’s “push” on the battlefield was an “internal decision by the Taliban,” not the work of competing Taliban leaders and factions.
Amiri says the Taliban is united in “applying pressure” on the Kabul government through intensifying attacks.
Even as fighting has sharply increased, Afghan and Taliban negotiators remain deadlocked at the peace talks, unable even to agree on a framework and agenda for the talks.
Members of the Afghan negotiating team have accused the Taliban of stalling the talks by refusing to compromise.
As
far as can guess;
the syndicate
of
the
Internationa War Criminals
is
the
only rogue entity which would
be capable
of
penetrating
and
creating
such rifts and schism
among
the
Taliban cadres- after all
Pakistani
goofy politician would never dare
to
disappoint
their
Anglo/US
overlords !!!!!
*
It looks like
a
balancing act- the
International parasites
have turned it all into
a
big gambling game; involving, just
about any body, who would be
willing to
join the
“WAR BONANZA”.
===
==
=
*Yes;
the
nasty
megalomaniacs and their creepy minions
have turned it all
into
a
sophisticated type
of
exclusive business bonanza where
the
invaders make huge
amount of money,
((directly and/or indirectly)),
all on expenses
of
the repressed
folks and other
investing prospects who gain also huge sums,
as well- all from
the
imposed carnage
inside countries; like,
Afghanistan.
*
Divisions
within
the
Taliban ranks
won’t matter much at all; as long as
it is manageably yields
the
desired overall outcome.
This
goofy war is designed exclusively
for
geopolitical supremacy
and
in
that capacity
the
coward invaders,
as a part of their easy access to global resources,
would always have to adjust their
nasty
criminal behavior, in an order,
to
maintain that solid edge over the control
of
the
global
resources !
*
This
goofy ass; writer,
(Frud Bezhan)),
is
talking sht- all
sums up
to
like
a distorted fiction !
*
Clearly; this
weirdo serves
Anglo/US
intelligence agencies- it
is
a
honor for this type
of
Indian misfit- a slave mentality
that you
never be able
to
alter it.
================
HIS
STUPID ARTICLE
IS
FULL
OF
LIES AND DISTORTIONS !
.
PLEASE;
CHECK IT ALL OUT;
IN
DETAILS !
*
A
cheap mouthpiece
of
his
English master
who could not
prove his
Sketchy informations
and
dubious claims !
*
I don’t understand; why you guys publish this type
of
fictional, ((stupid)),
article are in your forum?????
===
==
=
The crazy Englishman created the fictional Mullah Omar legacy; now this Indian goofball
is repeating
it; like,
his daily mantra and with additions
of
his own flat lies.
.
Unbelievable; he,
((crazy Frud Bezhan)),
is
unashamedly
adding his
own lies
within
the
already created legacy
of
fictional Mullah Omar;
his nonexistent
disciples
and
his
newly-emerging
and
challenging
son
*
*Wow !
*
The
economic gains and loses are
complex matters
of
variable issues that may not even
directly relates
to
the
sequences
of
events inside Afghanistan- but; nevertheless, may get impacted
due
to
ramifications of some
of
those events, at large, that may indeed have
drastic
future impacts
on
global economic standings
of
those
economically-powerful
countries ; such as,
US; China; Russia
and
their allies.
===
==
=
That is what
concerns
them,
the
most- so;
then,
why would they
care about
the
lives of the locals !
*
*YES;
THEY ARE
ALL;
“SICK AND GREEDY” !!!!!
*
=======================
*COWARDS AND *LOW-CLAS
AS WEII !
*
*ON
YOYR OWN WITH PRAYERS !
*
…..AN…..
IMPARTIAL
“INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONFERENCE”,
………………………………
((ON *AFGHANISTAN)),
……………………………….
IS
>>>>>>>>BBC no
THE *ONLY
LOGICAL
ROUTE !!!!!
=======•=======================
=====•
====
==
•
*IT
IS;
ALSO,
>>>>>>>>
THE *ONLY
WAY
TO
LEGITIMIZE
*A
…………………………….
HONORABLY
BINDING. “PEACE AGREEMENT” !
…………………………….
*
.
.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
*PEACE AND *RESPECT
====================
=========
=====
.
WILL EVENTUALLY
TRIUMPH !
====================
*
I would like to add,
that
the
coward
invaders would label;
as
“Taliban”, just
about anyone
against their impositions.
===
==
=
Overwhelming majority of the
honorable
people
of
Afghanistan; just hate the occupation
of
their great country !
*
Here is an excerpt from from the
above, ((Frud’s)), article ::::::::::::::
================================
================================
((((((Biberman, the author of Gambling With Violence: State Outsourcing Of War In Pakistan And India, says the rivalry between the Mullah Yaqoob and Haqqani factions is spilling onto the battlefield.)))))
*
I am trying
to
point out
something very
logical; but, I am getting cut off- you
guys
are censuring !
*
*You
are doing it;
again- censuring !
*
The above excerpt clearly shows;
the
involvements
of
the
foreign intelligence agencies,
in
igniting
the warfares,
inside Afghanistan .
As you clearly see that,
Crazy Frud
is
trying
to
exonerate
the
real
foreign culprits !
*
Obviously;
a
mysterious dark force,
is
supplying, mobilizing and then igniting
deadly clashes
all across
the
killing-fields !
*
*REALLY;
======
IT DOES
NOT
TAKE A >>>> “NERDY GENIUS” >>>>>>
TO
FIGURE
IT ALL OUT !!!!!
*
*IT IS CONSIDERED;
AS
A
FORM
OF
MODERN
UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE !
===
==
=
Uniquely designed
for
Afghanistan.
*
*
*The beast
is
constantly evolving; against
the law
of
the
nature- in
freaky
alarming rates and weird manners !’
*
This
mentally ill case
is
striving extremely hard
to
savagely dominate and forcefully dictate
terms and conditions
on
strictly Muslim population
of
ancient
Afghanistan- how
could it be possible !!!!!
===
==
=
THOSE
HONORABLE FOLKS
ALREADY AND CLEARLY
*VOICED THEIR *CHOICES
FOR
*A TRUE
ISLAMIC IDENTITY !
*
*YES;
FREE
FROM
FOREIGN
DOMINATION !!!!!
.*
*Your coward
Grand Invasion
of
2001
violations ••••••••••••
=================
1- undermining civilized and real democratic
processes
.
2- savage human right violations of all sorts
.
3- bombing of civilians and all local targets across Afghanistan.
.
4- raping and torturing of any deemed oppositions.
.
5- engaging neighbors of Afghanistan
in
your sick imposed savageries
((directly and/or indirectly)).
.
6- attacking and murdering
of
the truly members
of
the
two people-based
Islamic parties
of
Afghanistan :
=======•••••
Hezb Islami
and
Jamiat Islami
.
7- invading private homes of the regular honorable folks
of
Afghanistan.
==========
==========
And numerous other
grotesque crimes that you
and your accomplices
have committed
repeatedly and cowardly,
for the last almost twenty years,
all across Afghanistan.
*
You
sick
human beings are
%100 guilty !
=========
=========
*JUST; GET LOST- ALL
OF
YOU !!!!!
THAT
BASICALLY MEANS THAT,
YOU MUST GET OUT
OF
AFGHANISTAN
AND IMMEDIATELY.
==============
=====
=
*YES;
GET LOST- EVERYONE
IS
*SICK AND *TIRED
OF
YOU ALL !!!!!
*
*LEAVE IT :
=======
TO
THE
REGULAR FOLKS
OF
AFGHANISTAN !
*