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

·

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.

Related

Afghan Government Calls For Calm As Taliban Waits Outside Kabul

·

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.

Related

Taliban enter outskirts of Kabul as US begins embassy evacuation

·

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.”

Click here to read more (external link).

Taliban Sweep Through Most of Afghanistan

·

VOA News
August 15, 2021

The Taliban have swept through most of the country, taking 25 of 34 Afghan provincial capitals over the past week. The insurgent offensive captured several of them Saturday, including the fourth-largest northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif. City leaders surrendered Jalalabad to the Taliban on Sunday.

Here is the latest:

Aug. 15 – Jalalabad, the last major city under government control, surrenders to the Taliban. The fifth-largest city in Afghanistan, Jalalabad is the capital of the eastern Nangarhar province and is 130 kilometers from Kabul.

Aug. 14 – U.S. President Joe Biden authorizes another 1,000 troops — in addition to the 3,000 ordered earlier this week — to assist in the evacuation of U.S. personnel and other allies from Kabul as Taliban insurgents drew closer to the Afghan capital.

Aug. 14 – Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of northern Balkh province, falls to the Taliban after fierce fighting. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announces in a formal statement they have fully captured Mazar-e-Sharif, the country’s fourth-largest city, located on the border with Uzbekistan.

Aug. 14 – President Ashraf Ghani makes a televised address, saying rapid consultations are underway to end the fighting. Calls for revitalization of armed forces.

Aug. 14 – The Taliban seizes control of Asadabad, capital of eastern province of Kunar, Saturday afternoon.

Aug. 13 – Abdullah Abdullah returns from Doha, Qatar, with a proposal for a political deal, rumored to involve a cease-fire, between President Ashraf Ghani and the Taliban, according to a former Ghani spokesperson. Abdullah, the head of Afghanistan’s High Council for National Reconciliation, is to return to Doha to discuss Ghani’s decision with the Taliban.

Aug. 13 – Canada announces it is accepting 20,000 Afghan refugees, with the first planeload arriving in Toronto Friday, according to Agence France-Presse.

Aug. 13 – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says NATO allies met in the North Atlantic Council to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. In a statement, he says “NATO will maintain our diplomatic presence in Kabul and continue to adjust as necessary” and that NATO’s “aim remains to support the Afghan government & security forces as much as possible.”

The following is a compilation of the provincial capitals the Taliban has captured. There are 34 provincial capitals in the country:

Captured provincial capitals:

Aug. 15 – Jalalabad, capital of eastern province of Nangarhar.

Aug. 14 – Mazar-e-Sharif, capital of northern Balkh province.

Aug. 14 – Asadabad, capital of eastern province of Kunar.

Aug. 14 – Maimana, capital of northern province of Faryab.

Aug. 14 – Mihtarlam, capital of eastern province of Laghman.

Aug. 14 – Gardiz, capital of eastern province of Paktia.

Aug. 14 – Sharana, capital of the southeastern Paktika province.

Aug. 13 – Qalat, capital of the southern province of Zabul.

Aug. 13 – Pol-e-Alam, capital of Logar province and hometown of President Ghani.

Aug. 13 – Firuzkoh, capital of central Ghor province.

Aug. 13 – Tarinkot, capital of southern Uruzgan province.

Aug. 13 – Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province in the south.

Aug. 12 – Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-largest city and capital of Kandahar province in the south.

Aug. 12 – Herat, Afghanistan’s third-largest city and capital of the province of the same name. captured after two weeks of fighting.

Aug. 12 – Qala-e-Naw, capital of northwestern Badghis province.

Aug. 12 – Ghazni, capital of the province of the same name.

Aug. 11 – Faizabad, capital of the northeastern province of Badakhshan.

Aug. 10 – Farah, capital of the western province of the same name.

Aug. 10 – Pul-i-Khumri, capital of the central province of Baghlan.

Aug. 9 – Aybak, capital of the northern province of Samangan.

Aug. 8 – Taloqan, capital of the northern Takhar province.

Aug. 8 – Kunduz, strategic city that serves as the entryway to the northern provinces and Central Asia and is the capital of Kunduz province.

Aug. 8 – Sar-e Pul, capital of the province of the same name.

Aug. 7 – Sheberghan, capital of the northern province of Jawzjan.

Aug. 6 – Zaranj, capital of Nimroz province in the south, the first provincial capital to fall after the Taliban escalated attacks on Afghan forces in May.

Some information for this report came from Reuters and the Associated Press.

Atta alleges conspiracy to trap him and Dostum

·

Taliban Fighters Seize Major Northern Afghan City Of Mazar-e Sharif

·

By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
August 14, 2021

Taliban fighters have reportedly taken control of Mazar-e Sharif, a major northern Afghan city that is one of the last in the country still under government control.

The August 14 capture of the city, located around 100 kilometers from the border with Uzbekistan, was a major setback for the government.

Government forces have put up little-to-no resistance as Taliban fighters have swept across the country in recent weeks.

Earlier this week, the Taliban seized the country’s second- and third-largest cities, Herat and Kandahar, putting their forces within striking distance of the capital, Kabul.

Abas Ebrahimzada, a lawmaker from the Balkh Province where Mazar-e Sharif is located, told AP that the national army surrendered first. That prompted pro-government militias and other forces to lose morale and give up in the face of a Taliban onslaught, he said.

Afzal Hadid, head of the Balkh provincial council, said that security forces from the city were escaping towards the border. “The Taliban have taken control of Mazar-e Sharif,” he told Reuters. “All security forces have left Mazar city.”

Ebrahimzada also said Abdul Rashid Dostum and Ata Mohammad Noor, former warlords who command thousands of fighters, had fled the province and their whereabouts were unknown.

The Taliban have made major advances in recent days, and now control about 21 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces. The advances have stunned U.S. officials who had hoped Afghan forces would hold their own against the offensive.

The advance comes as the United States continues to pull out its forces, ahead of a August 31 deadline announced by President Joe Biden.

Earlier on August 14, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani vowed not to give up the “achievements” of the last 20 years as the Taliban advanced.

In his brief televised address on August 14, Ghani said he was consulting with local leaders and international partners on the situation in the country. He did not announce his resignation, something that some observers had speculated was possible.

“As your president, my focus is on preventing further instability, violence and displacement of my people,” Ghani said, and that the “remobilization of armed forces is a top priority.”

Ghani had flown to Mazar-e Sharif — a city of some 500,000 — on August 11 to rally the city’s defenses, meeting with several militia commanders, including Abdul Rashid Dostum and Ata Mohammad Noor.

The fall of Mazar-e Sharif came amid news that Sharana, capital of the southeastern Paktika Province, had been overrun on August 14 by Taliban militants, local officials told Radio Azadi. Taliban fighters later captured Asadabad, the capital of the eastern Kunar Province as well.

The Taliban meanwhile released a video announcing the takeover of the main radio station in the southern city of Kandahar, renaming it the Voice of Sharia, or Islamic law.

In the video, an unnamed insurgent said all employees were present and would broadcast news, political analysis, and recitations of the Koran, the Islamic holy book. It appears the station will no longer play music.

The first Marines from a contingent of 3,000 have arrived in Kabul to help partially evacuate the U.S. Embassy and secure the city’s airport.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that most of the 3,000 additional troops will be in place by August 15 and “will be able to move thousands per day” out of Afghanistan.

Kirby acknowledged on August 13 that it appeared Taliban fighters were trying to isolate the city, but said the capital was not “in an imminent threat environment.”

The Taliban’s rapid offensive has picked up pace as U.S.-led international troops aim to complete their withdrawal by August 31. The deadline was set after U.S. President Joe Biden announced in April that he was ending U.S. involvement in the war after nearly 20 years.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on August 13 expressed concern about the situation and urged the Taliban to halt their offensive and “negotiate in good faith.”

“The message from the international community to those on the warpath must be clear: seizing power through military force is a losing proposition. That can only lead to prolonged civil war or to the complete isolation of Afghanistan,” Guterres said.

Guterres also said he was “deeply disturbed” by accounts of poor treatment of women in areas seized by the Taliban.

“It is particularly horrifying and heartbreaking to see reports of the hard-won rights of Afghan girls and women being ripped away,” Guterres said.

With reporting by AFP, AP, BBC, and Reuters

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.

Mazar-e-Sharif reported to have fallen

·

Atta Mohammad Noor and Marshal Dostum both fled to the border with Uzbekistan.

Meghan McCain torches Biden admin for welcoming ‘ISIS 3.0’ with Afghan withdrawal: ‘Absolutely shameful’

·

Joe Biden

Fox News: Former “View” co-host Meghan McCain went on a tear against the Biden administration Friday over the turbulent U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan – as the Taliban continued to gain more ground in the war-torn nation. Click here to read more (external link).

Related