Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Taliban’s army chief, has said the group will respond “several times over” to any aggression against Afghanistan and is seeking to equip its forces with modern weapons.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Taliban Ministry of Defence said Fitrat met with media representatives, political analysts and a number of Taliban officials to discuss coordination and strengthen cooperation.
At the meeting, Fitrat said Taliban forces had shown “no hesitation whatsoever” over the past four years in defending and protecting Afghanistan. He said the Taliban army is standing on its own feet and working to modernise its capabilities.
“We are striving to build an army equipped with modern weapons to defend the country’s territory under any circumstances,” Fitrat said. “Our army has proven to the people that anyone who looks at this land with ill intent will face a firm and courageous response, and it has also been proven to neighbouring countries that any aggression against Afghanistan will be met with a several-fold response.”
Fitrat did not name any specific country.
After the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, large quantities of advanced US military equipment were left behind and later taken over by the Taliban. The US Department of Defense has estimated the value of this equipment at more than $7 billion, including military vehicles, advanced weapons, biometric devices and other matériel.
Investigations by Afghanistan International show that over the past four years the Taliban have been involved in more than 150 clashes with Pakistani border forces. The Taliban have also clashed on several occasions with Iranian border guards.
