NRF Releases 4 Captured Taliban Members in Badakhshan
The National Resistance Front (NRF) announced the release of four Taliban members who had been arrested by the front’s forces in Badakhshan on Friday.
The National Resistance Front (NRF) announced the release of four Taliban members who had been arrested by the front’s forces in Badakhshan on Friday.
In a statement, the front, led by Ahmad Massoud, added that the weapons and ammunition of these four Taliban members had been seized and they were released after the mediation of local elders.
NRF added that its forces were able to capture four members of the "Taliban” in Farghamanj area of the Jurm district of Badakhshan province.
NRF stressed that its forces “treated the prisoners well and with consideration of the laws of war, the teachings of the holy religion of Islam and following the behaviour of the national hero Ahmad Shah Massoud”.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Massoud had emphasised on Thursday in a virtual conference at the three-day Aspen security meeting that he believes in a political solution to end the conflict in Afghanistan.
At the same time, he added that the resistance against the Taliban has expanded from Panjshir to Takhar and Badakhshan.
Two days after Iran’s foreign minister claimed that ISIS leaders had transferred to Afghanistan from Syria, Libya, and Iraq, the Taliban’s foreign ministry rejected the statement and said that the reports about such transfers are not true.
The Taliban’s foreign ministry added that Iran should focus on constructive relations with the group and stressed that Tehran should avoid releasing alarming statements.
In a statement on Saturday, the Taliban's Foreign Ministry stressed, "If Iran has information about the transfer of ISIS members to Afghanistan, we hope that they provide us with that information so the Afghan security forces can act upon them."
The Taliban’s foreign ministry stressed that countries should fulfil their international obligations regarding the security of their borders.
The Taliban said that it will not allow anyone to threaten Afghanistan's security or use its territory "against others”.
In the statement, the Taliban’s foreign ministry emphasised that the group has fought ISIS before and after taking control of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that ISIS leaders have been transferred to Afghanistan from Iraq, Syria, and Libya in recent months. This Iranian official called the transfer of ISIS leaders to Afghanistan one of the challenges of the Taliban.
Taliban officials have repeatedly denied the presence and ability of terrorist groups, including the ISIS, in Afghanistan.
However, a number of countries, especially in Central Asia, have continuously expressed concern about the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
Bakhtiyor Saidov, Uzbekistan’s foreign minister and Feridun Sinirlioğlu, the UN Secretary General's Special Coordinator for Afghanistan met in Tashkent.
Saidov said that the two sides discussed the plans regarding Afghanistan. However, the Uzbek foreign minister didn’t provide more details about the presented plans.
Saidov stressed that like other countries, Uzbekistan is undoubtedly interested in stability in Afghanistan.
Before his trip to Uzbekistan, the UN special coordinator for Afghanistan visited Iran and exchanged views on Afghanistan with the Iranian foreign minister.
On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic in a statement announced that Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the formation of an inclusive government and the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan are of major importance to Iran. He also emphasised on the need to support regional initiatives to help address Afghanistan's challenges.
Before his regional visits, the UN special coordinator also visited Afghanistan and held talks with the Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, and the group’s interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani.
In his meeting with Haqqani, Sinirlioğlu emphasised on "the fundamental rights of the Afghan people" and convoyed to the Taliban that "the concerns of the United Nations should be taken seriously”.
During a meeting with Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s deputy prime minister, said that the group does not interfere in Pakistan's internal affairs.
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir told Durrani that the Taliban will not allow anyone to use Afghanistan's soil against neighbouring countries.
After a recent rise in attacks on Pakistani security forces, Durrani visited Kabul to hold talks with Taliban officials.
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir has emphasised that the Taliban considers Pakistan's stability in the interest of the group and added that as a Muslim neighbour, the Taliban does not want “war and instability in Pakistan".
Durrani has also said that the world should accept achievements in stabilisation and counter-narcotics in Afghanistan, the Taliban deputy prime minister’s press office stated.
Durrani has also emphasised that Pakistan has good relations with Afghanistan and Islamabad is trying to strengthen these relations.
Khawaja Asif, Pakistan's defence minister, questioned the Taliban's claims that foreign terrorists are not present in Afghanistan.
Addressing the Taliban in Afghanistan, Khawaja Asif said that Pakistani Taliban members have been killed on a daily basis in Afghanistan. “Then, how can one say that TTP members are not present there,” he asked.
Asif called the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan as the "Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan" (TTA) while speaking to the media on Thursday in the Pakistani Parliament.
He said that Pakistan is ready to provide all documents regarding the activities of the Pakistani Taliban to the Taliban.
Earlier, Pakistani media quoted the country’s security officials and reported that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) use advanced American weapons and night vision cameras left over by the security forces of the previous government of Afghanistan, in their attacks on Pakistani targets.
Pakistani officials claimed that the TTP, which has spiritual and operational ties to the Afghan Taliban, has been able to arm itself with the same weapons used by the Taliban fighters.
In recent days, senior Pakistani officials have sharply criticised the Taliban in Afghanistan for providing safe haven to TTP members.
Pakistan's defence minister had previously accused the Afghan Taliban of not fulfilling their obligations in the Doha Agreement and allowing Afghan soil to be used against others.
In response to these statements, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, had said that instead of pointing their fingers at others, Pakistan should address their internal problems.
Mujahid had also rejected the statements of the Pakistani officials and said, "We do not allow TTP to live and operate in Afghanistan. We have faced the consequences of war and we don't want others to suffer like Afghanistan."
Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the National Resistance Front (NRF) said that the resistance against the Taliban has now expanded to Takhar and Badakhshan provinces.
On Thursday, Massoud praised the recent protests of Afghan women and said that despite brutal violence, the Taliban has not been able to defeat the spirit and will of the people in Afghanistan.
The NRF leader participated in the three-day Aspen Security Forum virtually on Thursday.
Two years after the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, during the Aspen Forum, the NRF leader didn’t talk widely about his operations against the Taliban, and most of his speech was focused on criticising the US negotiations with the Taliban in Doha and Washington’s mistakes in Afghanistan.
Massoud also didn’t discuss his military strategy in Afghanistan and instead emphasised that he believes in a political solution to end the conflict in the country.
Ahmad Massoud criticised the Taliban for ignoring the peace talks with the National Resistance Front.
In response to the question of why Afghans didn’t fight against the Taliban like the Ukrainians do against the Russian forces, Ahmad Masoud said that the Afghan military forces fought against the Taliban with "incomparable" bravery and the people still resist the Taliban "with empty hands".
He repeatedly mentioned women's demonstrations against the Taliban, which, according to him, have been severely suppressed by the group.
The leader of the National Resistance Front criticised the United States and said that the Afghans did not receive the support that Ukraine is receiving now.
Massoud explained that his father, Ahmad Shah Masoud, fought against the Taliban in the 1990s and prevented the Taliban’s control of Afghanistan. He added that the Americans never paid attention to his father regarding the worsening situation in Afghanistan and the solution he offered.
Panjshir was one of the important bastions of resistance against the former Soviet forces and later under the Taliban in the late 1990s. However, in 2021 after the Afghan government fell to the Taliban, Panjshir was easily captured by the group.
Ahmad Massoud emphasised that the Taliban will never be able to win the "hearts and minds" of the people of Panjshir and that the resistance has spread to other provinces of Afghanistan.
He asked the international community to support the "efforts of the people for freedom".
Ahmad Massoud said, "We feel that we have been betrayed and we feel alone in this situation. But after all, we have each other.”
