Russian Ambassador To Kabul To Meet Taliban

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Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
August 16, 2021

A senior Russian official says the country’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Dmitry Zhirnov, will hold talks with Taliban representatives on August 17 to discuss the security of Russian citizens and embassy personnel.

Russian presidential envoy Zamir Kabulov told the radio station Ekho Moskvy on August 16 that Zhirnov will meet Taliban representatives in Kabul on how the group plans to provide security for the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital.

Though Moscow initially said it would not change personnel numbers at the embassy, Kabulov said some staff at the embassy will be given either paid leave or be evacuated to reduce the number of people present during the turmoil.

Zhirnov said that the Taliban militia was already guarding the Russian Embassy.

“Today the Afghan national security military who guarded us left. Taliban representatives assured us again that they will not touch a hair on the heads of Russian diplomats there, saying, ‘You can safely continue working,'” Zhirnov said in a televised interview with Rossia-24.

Russia is estimated to have a staff of around 100 people at the embassy.

On August 15, the Taliban announced it had taken control of the Afghan capital, Kabul, after weeks of capturing large swaths of the country in offensives timed with the announced August 31 departure of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Based on reporting by Ekho Moskvy, Rossia-24, and Interfax

Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

U.S. Policy Under Fire As Taliban Seizes Control In Afghanistan

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Joe Biden

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
August 16, 2021

The sudden seizure of Kabul by Taliban militants after they made rapid advances across the country has triggered sharp criticism of the U.S. policy in Afghanistan, where Washington ultimately failed to build a democratic government capable of withstanding the insurgents despite spending billions of dollars and providing two decades of military support.

U.S. President Joe Biden has yet to issue a statement on the capture of Kabul and the fall of the Afghan government on August 15, but leading figures in his administration have acknowledged they were caught off-guard with the utter speed of the collapse of Afghan security forces ahead of the planned U.S. military withdrawal by the beginning of September.

Biden, who has spent months downplaying the prospect of the Taliban taking control, is now facing rising criticism, especially from Republicans in Congress, with critics saying that the United States’ reputation as a global power had been badly tarnished.

“It is a colossal failure, and it is a humiliation,” former UN envoy to Afghanistan Peter Galbraith said on August 16, adding that it remained to be seen how it affects “America’s standing in the world.”

Galbraith told Reuters that rampant corruption within the Afghan police and all levels of government meant that money that the United States was giving in aid often ended up in Taliban hands, while local warlords, government officials, and police cooperated with the militant group.

Others, such as William Maley, emeritus professor at Australian National University, say several missteps led to the collapse of the Western-backed government in Afghanistan, but ultimately “appalling U.S. decision-making lies at the heart of the tragedy.”

“It is hard to see how Biden can emerge from this disaster without his credibility shredded, but the greater loss is to the credibility of the United States, which increasingly appears a fading power internationally,” he said.

“When historians look back at the shambolic U.S. exit from Afghanistan, it may increasingly appear a critical marker of America’s decline in the world, far eclipsing the flight from Saigon in 1975,” he added.

Much has changed in the two decades since the Taliban was overthrown by the U.S.-led invasion nearly 20 years ago, and some analysts have expressed concern that gains in areas such as women’s rights and the rights of the Shi’ite Hazara minority group will quickly disappear.

Under the 1996-2001 Taliban rule, women could not work, girls were not allowed to attend school, and women had to cover their faces and be accompanied by a male relative if they wanted to venture out of their homes.

U.S. national-security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview on NBC’s Today show on August 16 that while the situation on the ground in Afghanistan deteriorated faster than anticipated, Biden is prepared to marshal the international community on human rights in Afghanistan, where the Taliban is seizing power.

“He is prepared to marshal the international community on this issue. He cares passionately about these human rights questions, and we will stay focused on them in the period ahead,” Sullivan said.

“But that was not a reason for the United States to enter a third decade of war in the middle of an internal conflict in another country,” he added.

At home, Biden may feel even more heat as Republicans seize on the issue, saying it raises security fears inside the United States.

“We are going to go back to a pre-9/11 state. A breeding ground for terrorism,” Representative Michael McCaul (Republican-Texas) told CNN on August 15.

In an interview, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace tried to deflect some of the criticism from Biden and the United States, saying the Taliban’s takeover was a “failure of the international community.”

Assessing that the West’s intervention was a job only half-done, the former British Army officer maintained that the 20-year intervention by U.S.-led forces “wasn’t a waste,” but he accused Western powers of being short-sighted in policy matters.

“If it’s a failure, it’s a failure of the international community to not realize that you don’t fix things overnight,” he told the BBC, citing “a failure to recognize that military might on its own” could not completely resolve the situation in Afghanistan.

“Half the mission on its own…was entirely successful,” he said, pointing to the removal of the Taliban following the September 11, 2001, attacks and the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, which he said made the world safer.

But “that doesn’t mean that the next 20 years are going to be the same,” Wallace added, echoing concerns about the impact of the hard-line group’s resurgence on world security.

With reporting by AFP, Reuters, the BBC, and AP

Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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The Taliban Is Back — What Happens Next?

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Taliban’s Baradar (left) and Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi (right). File photo.

Frud Bezhan
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
August 15, 2021

The situation in the Afghan capital, Kabul, is changing rapidly as the Taliban has moved into the city and taken over parts of it, including the Presidential Palace. This happened as Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country and security forces in the city melted away.

Though much is unknown, here are some of the key questions for the war-torn country as the militant Islamist group takes control of the entire country.

What Happened To The Democratically Elected Afghan Government?

The internationally recognized government in Kabul has largely collapsed.

President Ghani flew out of Afghanistan on August 15, effectively ceding power to the Taliban as its fighters surrounded the capital and later entered it. He landed in neighboring Tajikistan and was reported to be headed to a third country.

Key members of Ghani’s administration — including First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, a fierce Taliban critic; National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib; and Fazel Fazly, the head of the administrative office of the president — also fled the country.

Some senior government officials, including cabinet ministers, remain in the city.

Who’s In Charge Now?

Afghanistan’s security forces appeared to be partially in control of the city as of late on August 15 but were ceding it rapidly to Taliban fighters.

After initially pledging not to enter the city, the Taliban said it had sent its fighters into “some parts” of the city, allegedly to maintain order and prevent looting. There were some reports of sporadic gunfire around the city, but there did not appear to be major fighting.

Some Afghan soldiers and police officers were seen abandoning their posts, taking off their uniforms, and fleeing with their weapons.

Taliban commanders were shown walking through the Presidential Palace in central Kabul and taking down an Afghan flag in what appeared to be Ghani’s office.

The Taliban fighters quickly took control of key government buildings and Taliban commanders were shown walking through the Presidential Palace and taking down an Afghan flag in what appeared to be Ghani’s office.

Kabul’s international airport is still controlled by a few thousand U.S. troops who are securing the safe departure of foreign diplomats, expats, and Afghans who worked for foreign entities from Kabul.

Omar Samad, a former Afghan diplomat in Europe, said that “there are security units all over but no commander in chief at the helm after the top echelon fled the country.”

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s influential ex-president, announced the creation of a “coordination council” on August 15. He said the body would oversee the peaceful transition of power.

The three-man council includes Abdullah Abdullah, the second-highest government official in Kabul, and Hekmatyar Gulbuddin, one of Afghanistan’s most notorious former warlords and a former militant leader.

“It seems this council is in charge,” says Ali Adili, a researcher at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul. “But it’s unclear who has authorized such a council,” he added. “The formation of the council has yet to reassure the people of Kabul.”

What Government Is Likely To Emerge?

Afghan Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakawal said power would be handed over to a transitional administration. But the Taliban appeared to quash those claims, insisting that the group expected a complete handover of power.

“I fear that the Taliban will take over directly or we will have an interim government that is essentially a Taliban proxy,” said Haroun Rahimi, an assistant professor of law at the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul. “In that case, the future political system is unlikely to be inclusive leading many Afghans to perceive it as imposed and illegitimate.”

U.S. officials had said that Washington would not recognize a Taliban government if the militant group forcibly seized power.

The Taliban has previously said they favored a transitional government if Ghani stepped down. But it is unclear if they will follow through on their pledge.

“Now that Ghani has fled, we will know over the next day or two whether we are headed toward a broad-based set-up or a one-party system, even though the signs point to a more inclusive interim period,” Samad said.

Torek Farhadi, a former adviser to the Afghan government, said if there is a more inclusive interim setup, the Taliban was likely to be dominant but there could be room for other political actors, although he expects it to be lesser-known personalities and stakeholders rather than figures from the current political elite in Kabul.

“The Taliban will probably form a government of their choice, with representatives from all provinces and ethnic groups, but not necessarily from the political figures we know,” Farhadi said.

What About Longer-Term?

A Taliban-dominated government in Kabul is likely to emerge, analysts say.

During its rule, power was centralized in the hands of an “Amir ul-Momineen,” or leader of the faithful. The supreme leader was the head of state and had ultimate authority. This was Mullah Omar, the Taliban’s spiritual leader and founder.

The Taliban has rejected democracy and elections, branding them “foreign imports.”

It is unclear if the Taliban will reestablish its brutal former regime. When it ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, the fundamentalist Islamists oppressed women, massacred ethnic and religious minorities, and banned music and television.

Early indications suggest the militants will reimpose many of their repressive laws and retrograde policies in Kabul — as they have done in other captured cities and towns throughout Afghanistan.

The extremist group has banned women from working outside the home, severely limited girls’ education, and required women to be accompanied by a male relative if they leave their homes. There have also been several reports of young women being forced to marry Taliban fighters.

Even then, the militants have sought to project a more moderate face, promising to respect women’s rights and protect both foreigners and Afghans. “We assure the people, particularly in the city of Kabul, that their properties, their lives are safe,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on August 15.

What Leverage Will Outside Powers Have?

Western powers had previously pledged to remain engaged in Afghanistan even after the departure of all foreign forces from the country by August 31.

“It is crucial that, as promised, the international community does not once again walk away and abandon Afghanistan as was the case between 1989 and 2001,” Samad said.

“It is also imperative that the Taliban behave in a manner that can retain international attention and support, especially regarding their policies on human [and] gender rights and certain core liberties like freedom of expression.”

Analysts say the United States and other foreign powers can influence Taliban behavior by offering international aid to the destitute country and official recognition to the group. Some say Washington is betting that the Taliban will be reluctant to rule as an international pariah, as it did in the 1990s.

But it is unclear if international legitimacy is still important to the Taliban given that it is on the verge of capturing the entire country — late on August 15 it controlled 27 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

“If the Taliban show that they are not interested in gaining domestic legitimacy through an inclusive government, then international legitimacy could be one of the few sources of leverage left,” Rahimi said.

Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Ghani Leaves Afghanistan as Taliban Arrive at Kabul, Await Power Transfer

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Ghani

Ayesha Tanzeem
VOA News
August 15, 2021

KABUL, ISLAMABAD – Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, along with his vice president and other senior officials, flew out of the country on Sunday, setting the stage for Taliban insurgents to regain power in Afghanistan 20 years after a U.S.-led military invasion ousted them.

There was no comment from Ghani. In a recorded message on Saturday, Ghani had told the nation he was consulting with both national and international players on the situation which he called an “imposed war.”

However, Abdullah Abdullah, head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, posted a video on Facebook, criticizing Ghani.

Abdullah confirmed that Ghani had left the country and said, “I feel the former president left the country and people in a bad position. God will make him accountable.”

Ghani’s whereabouts and destination are currently unknown.

Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who is said to have accompanied Ghani and the others who left, in a tweet vowed not to bow to the Taliban, but he did not respond in the message to reports of him leaving the country.

Afghanistan Defense Minister Bismillah Mohammadi in a tweet lamented, in an apparent reference to Ghani and his associates, that they “tied our hands behind our backs and sold the homeland, damn the rich man and his gang.

The Taliban swept through most of the country in a little more than a week and reached the gates of the capital, Kabul, on Saturday. The insurgents, however, stayed out of the city, insisting they wanted a “peaceful transition of power” to spare Kabul of any violence.

Sunday morning, a Taliban delegation engaged prominent Afghan jihadi leaders, politicians and elders in negotiations that culminated in Ghani stepping down from office, sources directly aware of the developments told VOA.

The Taliban maintained in the talks that they would not engage Ghani in any transfer of power, saying he was not “a legitimate” president.

It is not known who was involved in the negotiations, but Abdullah Abdullah, who has overseen U.S.-brokered, intra-Afghan peace talks with the Taliban, was among the negotiators of Sunday’s deal.

Under a deal reportedly reached, a delegation of Afghan leaders, including Abdullah, would travel to Qatar, where “the transfer of power to the Taliban” will formally take place, sources told VOA.

Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is based in the group’s political office in the Qatari capital, Doha, said in a statement that insurgent fighters have been directed not to harm anyone or attack government and private properties during the course of military advances.

Shaheen said “anyone found guilty would be prosecuted and severely punished” by the Taliban. He insisted the Islamist group has maintained from the outset that it wanted a “peaceful transition of power,” blaming the beleaguered Ghani government for “pushing ahead with the war option.”

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed Sunday evening that their fighters have been directed to enter parts of Kabul to guard security posts and other installations to “prevent chaos and looting after Afghan forces abandoned them.” Mujahid urged the residents to remain calm saying the move was meant to ensure security of the people.

Earlier Sunday, the Taliban took over Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province and the last major city outside the capital to have been under government control.

Various reports said security forces were also retreating from other districts of Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan and holds one of the key border crossings into Pakistan via Torkhem.

Also Sunday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said their fighters took control of Bagram Air Base and the prison there and freed its inmates. There were high-profile Taliban prisoners at Bagram, which served as the main base for the U.S.-led foreign military mission in Afghanistan.

The speed of the Taliban offensive has shocked both locals and the international community. While violence in the country has been high since 2020, after the Taliban signed a deal with the United States, the latest campaign against Afghan cities has been unexpectedly fast.

The Taliban gains started with the capital of Nimruz province August 6 and nine days later, they had surrounded Kabul from all sides.

The Taliban’s arrival at the gates of Kabul has embassies scrambling to get their personnel out.

The U.S. is sending 1,000 troops, in addition to the 3,000 troops that were ordered last week, to help evacuate U.S. Embassy staff. Helicopters are reported ferrying staff to the Kabul airport.

“We have conveyed to the Taliban representatives in Doha, via our Combatant Commander, that any action on their part on the ground in Afghanistan, that puts U.S. personnel or our mission at risk there, will be met with a swift and strong U.S. military response,” U.S. President Joe Biden said, according to a White House statement.

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Afghan Government Calls For Calm As Taliban Waits Outside Kabul

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Taliban (file photo)

By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
August 15, 2021

The Taliban has moved closer to retaking full control of Afghanistan, with the capital, Kabul, the only major area still under the government’s control.

The Presidential Palace said on August 15 on social media that firing had been heard at a number of points around Kabul but that security forces, in coordination with international partners, had control of the city.

“Don’t panic! Kabul is safe!” tweeted Matin Bek, President Ashraf Ghani’s chief of staff.

The statement came as the Taliban said it had no plans to take the Afghan capital “by force” after unnamed Afghan officials told AP that the militants were in the capital’s Kalakan, Qarabagh, and Paghman districts.

The Taliban said it did not “intend to enter the city by force and fighting but are negotiating with the other side to enter Kabul peacefully.” The group said it had instructed its fighters to stay at the gates of the Afghan capital.

Earlier on August 15, the insurgents took control of the key eastern city of Jalalabad less than 24 hours after seizing the major northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, leaving the Afghan capital as the last major urban area under government control.

The Taliban took control of Jalalabad early on August 15 without a fight, cutting off Kabul to the east. The militants posted photos online showing themselves in the governor’s office in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province.

Abrarullah Murad, a lawmaker from Nangarhar Province, told AP that the insurgents seized Jalalabad after elders negotiated the fall of the government there.

The loss of Jalalabad and Mazar-e Sharif are back-to-back blows for President Ashraf Ghani, who addressed the nation in a televised speech on August 14, vowing not to give up the “achievements” of the 20 years since the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The militants took also Maidan Shar, the capital of Maidan Wardak, on August 15, only some 90 kilometers from Kabul, a provincial council member told Radio Azadi.

The Taliban has made rapid gains over the last week, sweeping through the country as U.S.-led forces withdraw and pressuring Afghanistan’s government.

The offensive accelerated in the last week, shocking Western governments as the Afghan military’s defenses appeared to collapse. The United States and Britain are deploying additional troops to help evacuate their citizens and Afghans who worked for them.

The Taliban said in a statement that its rapid gains showed it was popularly accepted by the Afghan people and reassured both Afghans and foreigners that they would be safe.

The Taliban “will, as always, protect their life, property, and honor and create a peaceful and secure environment for its beloved nation,” it said, adding that diplomats and aid workers would also face no problems.

The chain of events prompted U.S. President Joe Biden on August 14 to authorize the deployment of 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division.

They are in addition to about 3,000 troops approved on August 12 to ensure an “orderly and safe” drawdown of U.S. military personnel. They will join more than 650 personnel already in Kabul that have remained in the country to maintain diplomatic security.

The United States started the withdrawal of its diplomats on August 15, hours after U.S. troops began arriving in Kabul on August 14 to protect the evacuation operation and keep control of the airport.

Biden announced the additional troops in a statement that also defended the rapid U.S. pullout and argued against prolonging the U.S. mission.

“Over our country’s 20 years at war in Afghanistan, America has sent its finest young men and women, invested nearly $1 trillion dollars, trained over 300,000 Afghan soldiers and police, equipped them with state-of-the-art military equipment, and maintained their air force as part of the longest war in US history,” he said.

“One more year, or five more years, of US military presence would not have made a difference if the Afghan military cannot or will not hold its own country. And an endless American presence in the middle of another country’s civil conflict was not acceptable to me,” he said.

In his speech to the nation, Ghani said consultations have started inside the government with elders and political leaders, representatives of different levels of the community, and international allies.

“Soon the results will be shared with you,” he added, without elaborating further.

Earlier on August 14, Taliban fighters overran Sharana, capital of southeastern Paktika Province, and later captured Asadabad, the capital of eastern Kunar Province as well.

The new seizures bring the number of provinces now controlled by the Taliban to 25, out of a total of 34.

Tens of thousands of Afghans have fled their homes, many fearing a return to the Taliban’s oppressive rule. The group governed Afghanistan from 1996-2001, imposing a harsh version of Islamic law in which women were forbidden to work or attend school and could not leave their homes without a male relative accompanying them.

Salima Mazari, one of the few female district governors in the country, expressed fears about a Taliban takeover in an interview with AP from Mazar-e Sharif before it fell.

“There will be no place for women,” said Mazari, who governs a district near the northern city. “In the provinces controlled by the Taliban, no women exist there anymore, not even in the cities. They are all imprisoned in their homes.”

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Copyright (c) 2021. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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Taliban enter outskirts of Kabul as US begins embassy evacuation

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The Guardian (UK): The Taliban have issued a statement saying they have instructed their fighters to “stay at the gates of Kabul and not enter the city. Until the transition takes place , the Afghan government is responsible for the security of Kabul.”

The statement adds: “we don’t want a single, innocent Afghan civilian to be injured or killed as we take charge but we have not declared a ceasefire.”

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