WAR The Continuing Conflict in Afghanistan - Fighting in the Panjshir Valley 9/3/21

H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
I figured we needed a new thread to separate out phases and aspects of this mess.....HC

Posted for fair use.....
www.longwarjournal.org

National Resistance Front repels multi-day Taliban assault on Panjshir | FDD's Long War Journal

The Taliban launched attacks on three mountain passes that lead to Panjshir province, the last bastion of resistance in Afghanistan. The National Resistance Front repelled the assault.
www.longwarjournal.org

National Resistance Front repels multi-day Taliban assault on Panjshir

By Bill Roggio & Andrew Tobin | September 2, 2021 | bill+roggio@gmail.com |


After weeks of fruitless negotiations between the Taliban’s political leadership and senior leaders of the National Resistance Front in Panjshir, the Taliban launched a multi-pronged attack on the Panjshir Valley beginning on Aug. 31. The Taliban timed the assault on Panjshir for immediately after the U.S. military pulled out of Kabul airport and ended efforts to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies.

To this point, the National Resistance Front has mostly successfully warded off the Taliban by virtue of easily defended positions in the mountainous region, inflicting heavy Taliban casualties along the way.

Prior to the Taliban incursions, the nascent resistance claimed it controlled four districts in Baghlan and Parwan provinces outside of the Panjshir Valley. These districts provided a cushion for the anti-Taliban militia to gather Afghan security forces who did not surrender to the Taliban. [See: FDD’s Long War Journal report, Anti-Taliban resistance make modest gains outside Panjshir.]

However, the Taliban recaptured the crucial district of Dih Saleh in eastern Baghlan province, which granted the group access to the Khawak Pass that leads into the heart of Panjshir. Along with Khawak, the Taliban sent militants to the southern gate of the Panjshir Valley at the town of Gulbahar, and Anjuman, a critical pass in the north in Badakhshan province. Despite its numerical superiority, the Taliban was not able to break the defensive lines of the resistance forces.

In the south, the Taliban massed forces in the district of Jabul-Saraj in Parwan in hopes of overrunning the National Resistance Front’s defenses in Gulbahar. Intense fighting waged for two days, as reports emerged of Taliban militants advancing past the initial defensive positions into Shotul district in Panjshir. On social media, pro-Taliban accounts continued circulating videos claiming that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s forces had taken control of Shotul. However, neither Taliban officials nor their more credible social media supporters have posted similar information, indicating that the claims are false. The Taliban does appear to have controlled the pass for a period of time.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1433076874134106117
View: https://twitter.com/Bblos6/status/1433076874134106117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1433076874134106117%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.longwarjournal.org%2Farchives%2F2021%2F09%2Fnational-resistance-front-repels-multi-day-taliban-assault-on-panjshir.php


As of this morning, reports indicated that the NRF was able to expel the Taliban from Shotul as fighting continued further south near Gulbahar. National Resistance Front spokesman Fahim Dashty corroborated those reports, stating “the Taliban has spread rumors that they have entered parts of Panjshir. These are psychological operation (PsyOp) and propaganda. We assure full control over all the entrances of Panjshir. [The] Taliban have made multiple attempts to enter Shotul from Jabul-Saraj, and failed each time.”


Most recent reports suggested that pro-resistance fighters from Andarab have retaken the Khawak Pass, halting further Taliban incursions, although that information could not be independently verified.


In the northeast, the Taliban also attempted to enter the Panjshir Valley through the Anjuman Pass near Badakhshan. Given the lack of reporting on clashes in the northeast, it is likely that this was not a main line of effort for the Taliban and that the resistance forces were able to easily defend the pass from the assault. A former Afghan National Army commando reported that the Anjuman Pass is heavily guarded by elite units who have inflicted heavy casualties on any Taliban fighters who attempted to enter the valley.


Furthermore, reports emerged of the Taliban employing Al Qaeda and foreign fighters to attack in Panjshir. Originally, that claim was propagated by Massoud’s forces in Panjshir. However, videos surfaced of militants speaking Arabic and Persian – among other languages on their way to the Khawak Pass in Baghlan. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the successful NRF ambush at Khawak, militia leaders are claiming that they eliminated both Taliban and Al Qaeda units.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1432640307338743809
View: https://twitter.com/MajeedQarar/status/1432640307338743809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1432640307338743809%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.longwarjournal.org%2Farchives%2F2021%2F09%2Fnational-resistance-front-repels-multi-day-taliban-assault-on-panjshir.php


While the Taliban do have advantages in both manpower and firepower, Panjshir’s terrain provides the National Resistance Front with easily defendable positions, enabling the resistance to continue to withstand the Taliban onslaught. As a result, the National Resistance Front has thus far been successful in maintaining the territorial integrity of Panjshir and resisting incursions by the Taliban.


As fighting continues, the lack of declarations of victory by the Taliban and its supporters on social media would indicate that the resistance has the upper hand, at least temporarily.


Sources on the ground reported that the Taliban is preparing for another offensive as resistance forces say they remain ready to defend Panjshir.





Correction: This article originally included video of an ambush that was attributed to the National Resistance Front in Panjshir, however it was quickly determined the video was not authentic, and removed.
 
Last edited:
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Posted for fair use.....
www.cnn.com

Heavy clashes erupt between Taliban and anti-Taliban group in Afghanistan's Panjshir province | CNN

Fighting in Afghanistan's last major holdout against Taliban rule continued through Friday after heavy clashes erupted overnight between Taliban fighters and an anti-Taliban group, according to Taliban sources.
www.cnn.com www.cnn.com

Heavy clashes erupt between Taliban and anti-Taliban group in Afghanistan's Panjshir province

By Mohammed Tawfeeq, Nathan Hodge, Nilly Kohzad and Saleem Mehsud, CNN
Updated 10:43 AM ET, Fri September 3, 2021

(CNN)Fighting in Afghanistan's last major holdout against Taliban rule continued through Friday after heavy clashes erupted overnight between Taliban fighters and an anti-Taliban group, according to Taliban sources.

Panjshir Valley, a mountainous, inaccessible region north of Kabul, has a long history of resisting the insurgent group. In the late 1990s, it was a center of resistance against the Taliban during their rule.

Now the National Resistance Front (NRF), a multi-ethnic group that includes former Afghan security force members and reportedly numbers in the thousands, has continued the fight against the Taliban following the militants' almost-complete takeover of Afghanistan.

Sporadic fighting between the NRF and the Taliban has continued for two weeks now. The Taliban have been massing forces in and around Panjshir province in recent weeks, and said on Monday they had captured three districts in the valley.
 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Posted for fair use.....
www.reuters.com

Taliban sources say their forces take Panjshir, in full control of Afghanistan

Taliban forces have taken full control of Afghanistan including the Panjshir valley where opposition forces had been holding out, three Taliban sources said on Friday as heavy celebratory gunfire was heard in the Afghan capital Kabul.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com

September 3, 202110:21 AM PDT
Last Updated an hour ago
Asia Pacific
Taliban sources say their forces take Panjshir, in full control of Afghanistan
Reuters

Sept 3 (Reuters) - Taliban forces have taken full control of Afghanistan including the Panjshir valley where opposition forces had been holding out, three Taliban sources said on Friday as heavy celebratory gunfire was heard in the Afghan capital Kabul.

"By the grace of Allah Almighty, we are in control of the entire Afghanistan. The troublemakers have defeated and Panjshir is now under our command," said one Taliban commander.

It was not immediately possible to confirm the reports. Former Vice President Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of the opposition forces told Tolo News television station that reports he had fled the country were lies.

Reporting by Islamabad newsroom Editing by Chris Reese
 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Posted for fair use.....
www.dtnext.in

Pakistan's duplicitous strategy in Afghanistan and elsewhere

Analysts have been digging up assessments of varying nature on the likely course the situation in Afghanistan would take in the coming days. There is a high degree of uncertainty on the manner in which the government would ensure a safe and secure Afghanistan.
www.dtnext.in www.dtnext.in

Pakistan's duplicitous strategy in Afghanistan and elsewhere

Published: Sep 03,2021
11:38 PM by IANS

Analysts have been digging up assessments of varying nature on the likely course the situation in Afghanistan would take in the coming days. There is a high degree of uncertainty on the manner in which the government would ensure a safe and secure Afghanistan.

Kabul:
The situation in Afghanistan today has the global community concerned and anxious about developments in the region and the likely negative fall-out of the same.

Analysts have been digging up assessments of varying nature on the likely course the situation in Afghanistan would take in the coming days. There is a high degree of uncertainty on the manner in which the government would ensure a safe and secure Afghanistan.

In such situations, there is a tendency for the global community to forget those responsible for creating such crises outsmarting all stakeholders. In the case of Afghanistan, finding the true perpetrators of the creation of today's Afghanistan is the big question.

Pakistan has been quick enough to portray itself as the lone player left in the field to deal with the Afghan mess while the US abandoned the complex situation in the country. Pakistan has also been building on the sympathy narrative that it remains at the forefront of defending the world from the spread of terrorism - a line it intends to sustain in order to win the support of the larger international community. It projects itself as the savior of the world by being on the frontline of the war against terrorism and calibrating the Taliban to ensure peace and stability.

While Pakistan does not want to be seen as associated with the Taliban, at the same time it has no choice but to portray its linkages with the Taliban so as to uphold the mantle of ensuring security in Afghanistan.

The fact, however, remains that Pakistan has been solely responsible for creating the prevailing volatile situation in Afghanistan over the years as part of its policy of seeking strategic depth in Afghanistan. It has consistently indulged in extending support to US operations in Afghanistan while, at the same time, remaining deeply involved with the Taliban.

This duplicitous game of Pakistan was well known to the US from the very beginning but the US was focused on their targets on the ground in Afghanistan to which they could not gain access without the assistance of Pakistan.

Ironically, while Pakistan played along with the Americans in Afghanistan to ensure a constant flow of aid and other forms of support, at the same time, they provided resources and logistical support base for the Taliban.

Pakistan has also mastered well the art of psychological warfare as one saw a flurry of activities involving Pakistani officials and ministers feverishly engaging critical foreign contacts soon after the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban, ostensibly to ensure that there is no adverse fallout of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan impacting Pakistan's international image.

In fact, on the contrary, Pakistan went on a PR overdrive all across using their Ambassadors and critical contacts abroad to project themselves as being left in the lurch and having to defend itself and the world against any volatile situation being created in Afghanistan. They would thus vie for aid and assistance from international organizations and western countries building on this narrative.

A number of American politicians have rightly claimed that the war in Afghanistan would have ended long ago if Pakistan denied safe havens to the Taliban.

While sheltering and hosting the Taliban, Pakistan has ignored the fact that with a strong radical Islamic undercurrent prevailing in the country and political instability being endemic, the possibility of hardcore radical elements supported by the Taliban taking over the reins of the country in Islamabad cannot be ruled out.

The Central Asian state of Tajikistan went through a 5 year period of civil war from 1992 to 1997 due to the involvement of Taliban cadres in the internal political conflict in Tajikistan.

Strengthening the hands of the Taliban could lead to the possibility of radical groups in Pakistan taking over control of the government and eventually, nuclear weapons. While this may or may not become a reality, but Pakistan has also been using this narrative to put the fear among western nations to draw support in the form of resources and financial aid.

Then-President Pervez Musharraf was able to convince the larger global community that Al Qaeda was a threat to Pakistan's stability. From time to time, Pakistan's security officials have also played the narrative that hijacking Pakistan's nuclear weapons by terrorists were their worst nightmare. The terror-nuclear axis has thus been played well by Pakistan.

Over a period of time, Pakistan has thus managed to successfully play this manipulative game attracting significant assistance from the West. Between 2002 to 2020, playing on the "war on terror" narrative, Pakistan elicited around $ 33 billion in US assistance.

Steve Cole, in his book "Directorate S", describes the Coalition Support Funds (CSF) - essentially reimbursements to Pakistan - as "legal bribery" of the general. A US Committee heard the story of how Pakistan presented bills for $70 million on road and bunker construction without any evidence that it was ever done, $19,000 for use of each naval vehicle, and $55 million spent for the maintenance of helicopters which remained in total disrepair.

A lot of that went into various pockets. At the institutional level, CSF funds were used to buy conventional weapons for use against India, with the State Department classifying even the F-16 as counter-terrorism weaponry.

On a separate note, a number of incidents have taken place with Pakistani nationals carrying out attacks in different locations across the world but this never led to pressure from the international community on the Pakistani administration because of the inter-dependability of aid and security.

As far as the use of dubious means and tactics used by Pakistan is concerned, one cannot forget how Pakistan managed to create its nuclear weapons through covert channels. Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan even catered uranium centrifuge to Iran besides training Iranian scientists in multiple areas.

While the world today tries to deal with the Iranian nuclear program, which poses a threat to the West, Pakistan's complicity in critical contribution towards the project seems to have gone unnoticed.

Pakistan has thus escaped strong retribution due ironically to its own instability, with terrorists becoming the currency of exchange and barter. Its nuclear weapons have also been turned into a source of currency, while it used all the blackmail and double-dealing to back one apparent ally at the expense of another, and all of this for more than 20 years.

The US military and security establishment are well aware of the extent to which Pakistan has been responsible for causing damage to the US military in Afghanistan and intentionally bringing a bad name to the US compelling it to withdraw fast from Afghanistan.

One cannot forget the shock of 9/11 when US officials threatened to bomb Pakistan back into the "stone age" and which led to Pakistani Army "advisors" speedily exiting Afghanistan. The part of the war did actually end in a week. It restarted again, as the US turned to Iraq, and left the war to Pakistan.
 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Posted for fair use.....
www.npr.org

The Afghan Resistance Says Reports Of Its Defeat In Panjshir Are Taliban Propaganda

Ali Nazary, the National Resistance Front's head of foreign relations, denies that the last holdout against the Taliban has fallen, calling such reports part of the "Taliban propaganda machine."
www.npr.org www.npr.org

Asia

The Afghan Resistance Says Reports Of Its Defeat In Panjshir Are Taliban Propaganda





September 3, 20213:14 PM ET

Heard on All Things Considered

Scott Neuman
Twitter

A band of Afghan resistance fighters holed up in the country's rugged Panjshir province northeast of Kabul have repelled repeated attacks by Taliban fighters in recent days, a representative for the group tells NPR.


Speaking with NPR's All Things Considered on Friday, Ali Nazary, the National Resistance Front's head of foreign relations, who is currently in the U.S., also denied reports that the Taliban have taken control of the province — the last major territory standing between the Islamist militia and total control over Afghanistan — calling the rumors "propaganda."


He Is All That Stands In The Way Of The Taliban Taking Total Control Of Afghanistan
Asia
He Is All That Stands In The Way Of The Taliban Taking Total Control Of Afghanistan

The Panjshir Valley "has not been breached," he told host Audie Cornish. "The Taliban are facing fierce resistance."


"The Taliban propaganda machine is trying to divert attention, is trying to spread propaganda, to weaken morale in Kabul and elsewhere," said Nazary, who says he's been in close contact with NRF officials in Panjshir.


Nazary's remarks came on a day that saw both the Taliban and the NRF claiming victories and denying defeats. In sharp contrast to Nazary's comments, there were reports of "celebratory gunfire" in Kabul, the Afghan capital, over the Taliban's purported victory in Panjshir.

The NRF, which says it has about 10,000 fighters, is made up of various local militias and former Afghan security force members. It is led by the Western-educated son of legendary mujahedeen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated in the days leading to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The elder Massoud famously helped fight both the Soviet army and the Taliban to a standstill from his stronghold in the Panjshir Valley, situated in the Hindu Kush mountains.


Fearful Of The Taliban, At-Risk Afghans Urgently Seek A Way Out
Asia
Fearful Of The Taliban, At-Risk Afghans Urgently Seek A Way Out

Joining Massoud's opposition is Amrullah Saleh, who was vice president under President Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country as the Taliban closed in on the capital last month. In a video posted to social media, Saleh also denied rumors of a defeat.


Countering reports that he and Massoud had also fled, the former vice president told his supporters that he is in the Panjshir Valley and that the NRF has "held ground" and will continue to fight.


Nazary said that the Taliban launched its latest — and largest-to-date — offensive in hopes of conquering Panjshir before announcing a new government.


"Fortunately, our forces bravely fought them. They repelled all of their attacks," he said, adding that the Taliban had even retreated from some areas.


A Look At Afghanistan's 40 Years Of Crisis — From The Soviet War To Taliban Recapture
World
A Look At Afghanistan's 40 Years Of Crisis — From The Soviet War To Taliban Recapture

Panjshir has been described as a natural fortress against invaders, but it isn't clear how long the resistance can hold out against a larger and better-equipped Taliban force.


Nazary said that elements of al-Qaida have joined the Taliban and that the resistance is fighting them "all alone."


"The whole world has abandoned us," he said. "We're not receiving any type of assistance, whatever form it could be. And we're fighting al-Qaida and international terrorism at the moment. And everyone is ignoring this."


While continuing to fight, however, Nazary said the resistance maintains "lines of communication" with the Taliban and has made a so-far-unsuccessful call for a say in the new government.


"The Taliban movement does not represent the vast majority of Afghanistan's population. The vast majority are against them," he said. "In order for them to form an inclusive government, they have to include all ethnic groups, all political forces, all political parties from throughout the country, both women and men."


"Unfortunately, right now in their government that they're forming, they're ignoring 50 percent of the society, which are women," Nazary said.
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
The taleban are shooting their mouths off about taking the panjir valley but it is bs as far as I can tell.
Storming fixed, fortified positions, with mass charges is leading to taleban being slaughtered.
The northern alliance ain't fools. They have been preparing for the taleban since 2001.
The taleban has never really defeated the northern alliance.
Sheesh, the taleban will impale themselves on the entry passes and suffer heavy losses.
 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
From the Washington Post....and as with everything else we need to wait for further confirmations......however if true, Merde....

Posted for fair use.....https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/09/06/afghanistan-kabul-taliban-updates/
Asia
Panjshir Valley, last resistance holdout in Afghanistan, falls to the Taliban
By Rachel Pannett,
Haq Nawaz Khan and
Siobhán O'Grady

Today at 3:47 a.m. EDT

150 Comments

The Taliban on Monday seized Panjshir province, a restive mountain region that was the final holdout of resistance forces in the country, cementing its total control over Afghanistan a week after U.S. forces departed the country.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the Islamist group had “completely conquered” the Panjshir Valley. “With the help of Allah, and support of our people, the Islamic Emirate has taken complete control. Our last efforts for establishing peace and security in the country have given results," he said.

A senior official of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed that the Taliban had taken over. “Yes, Panjshir has fallen. Taliban took control of government offices. Taliban fighters entered into the governor’s house,” the person said.

Here’s what to know
  • A brutal weekend for women in Afghanistan saw a pregnant policewoman reportedly killed by the Taliban, while the Islamist group violently suppressed a women’s rights demonstration in Kabul.
  • The Taliban said at a Monday news conference that the announcement of a new Afghan government would come soon and that its shadowy supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada is slated to appear publicly in the near future, according to Reuters.
  • Taliban officials met on Sunday with the United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, who promised to maintain assistance, a spokesman for the Islamist group said.
  • Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is heading to the Persian Gulf to meet leaders that helped with the Kabul airlift. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also in the region, where he will discuss resettlement efforts.
Ahmad Massoud, head of the resistance, is “at [a] safe place,” the official said. (Massoud confirmed his safety in a tweet Monday morning, according to Reuters.) The person added that Amrullah Saleh, another senior anti-Taliban leader who had served as vice president of the ousted government, had fled for Tajikistan.


In a video recorded on Friday, Saleh said reports at the time that he had fled the country were “totally baseless,” although he added that the situation was “difficult.”

Afghan troops who had been trained by Western governments in the last two decades would be asked to rejoin the country’s security forces alongside Taliban fighters, Mujahid said at a Monday news conference, according to Tolo News. (Some Afghan soldiers had fled to the Panjshir after the Taliban seized Kabul.)

Some members of the resistance denied that the Taliban had occupied the Panjshir. The National Resistance Front said in a Facebook post Monday that its forces were “present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight.”

“The people of Afghanistan should be assured that the resistance will continue until the freedom and justice is achieved by God’s help,” the organization said.

The Taliban’s victory followed an extended period of heavy fighting between resistance guerrillas and Afghanistan’s new rulers. Resistance fighters set up a base in the Panjshir Valley days after the Taliban seized control of Kabul last month, convinced that they could hold a valley that was never conquered by the Taliban in the 1990s nor by the Soviet Union in its nearly decade-long occupation in the 1980s.

News of the conquest came after a brutal weekend that placed the Taliban’s treatment of women again in the spotlight as it prepares to announce Afghanistan’s new leadership and welcomes a resumption of international aid that could be contingent on the new regime protecting basic human rights.

A policewoman was beaten and shot dead by Taliban militants in front of relatives at her home in central Ghowr province on Saturday, the BBC reported, citing eyewitnesses. The Taliban denied killing the woman — who, according to reports, was eight months pregnant — and said they were investigating the incident.

Separately, a Taliban spokesman told The Guardian that the group had detained four men who allegedly struck female protesters during a Saturday demonstration against the Taliban’s extreme interpretation of Islamic law, which sharply curtails women’s political rights.

As the Taliban swept to power last month, the group sought to convince the world that it won’t return to the harsh rule it imposed when it last controlled the country, from 1996 to 2001. There is deep skepticism about those promises.

The latest developments add to recent reports of reprisal killings across the country. They could make it harder for the Taliban to convince world leaders to resume the flow of foreign aid that has largely been frozen since it took over Afghanistan.

Taliban officials met in Kabul on Sunday with the United Nations undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, who promised to maintain assistance for the Afghan people, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said.

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross also arrived in the country on Sunday to visit aid operations. In a video message, Peter Maurer said he would talk to authorities about ensuring “neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian action” continues.

The U.N. has warned of an impending humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where foreign aid made up much of the previous Western-backed government’s budget.

Meanwhile, in Mazar-e Sharif, airplanes with Americans and interpreters have been waiting on the ground for days amid conflicting reports that they are being held up either by the Taliban or awaiting State Department clearance for departure.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.) said on “Fox News Sunday” that the planes were waiting for clearance from the Taliban in what he described as “a hostage situation.” But Eric Montalvo, a former Marine Corps officer and attorney heading coordination for three of the charter planes in Mazar, told The Post it is the U.S. State Department that must tell the Taliban that the flights are authorized to depart for Qatar.


A State Department spokeswoman said that the department no longer has personnel on the ground after the U.S.-led evacuation mission ended last month, and it doesn’t control the airspace “whether over Afghanistan or elsewhere in the region.”

“Given these constraints, we also do not have a reliable means to confirm the basic details of charter flights, including who may be organizing them, the number of U.S. citizens and other priority groups onboard, the accuracy of the rest of the manifest, and where they plan to land, among many other issues,” the spokeswoman said.

The United States will, however “hold the Taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart Afghanistan,” she added.

Susannah George, Ezzatullah Mehrdad, Shaiq Hussain and Sammy Westfall contributed reporting.
 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
panjshir.png



en.wikipedia.org

Panjshir offensives (Soviet–Afghan War) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

_120221444_afghanistan_panjshir_terrain_roads_640x2-nc.png

 
H

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Posted for fair use.....
www.independent.co.uk

Blair says Afghanistan invasion was ‘maybe naïve’ - as it happened

Follow developments from Monday below
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

AsiaSouth Asia
Afghanistan news – live: Taliban victory in Panjshir contested as minister backtracks on veteran suicide claim
Follow the latest developments below

Sam Hancock,Shweta Sharma
1 minute ago
comments

The Taliban’s claim to be in total control of Afghanistan’s Panjshir province has been disputed by the National Resistance Front (NRF), which condemned the declaration as “false”.
A Taliban spokesman on Monday declared victory for the Islamist group, saying it meant “our country is completely taken out of the quagmire of war”. However, resistance fighters swiftly said they were still present in “all strategic positions” and “continue to fight”.


However, images on social media appear to back up the Taliban’s version of events.
Meanwhile, a British defence minister has backtracked on claims he made about a military veteran, who served in Afghanistan, taking their life. During a round of broadcast interviews, James Heappey told Sky News he understood that at least one veteran had taken their life in recent days “because of feelings over what’s happened in Afghanistan”.
However, appearing later on BBC Breakfast, he said the report he was referring to may have been “inaccurate” and that the government was “looking carefully” at what happened.
Sign The Independent’s petition urging the UK to take in more refugees from Afghanistan here.
Recommended
KEY POINTS
14 minutes ago
Minister admits ‘embarrassing’ blunder over Afghanistan veteran suicide
Following my earlier post, here’s Adam Forrest with a bit more on what defence minister James Heappey said and then revoked this morning.
Sam Hancock6 September 2021 09:15
21 minutes ago
New Afghan government to be ‘announced soon,’ says Taliban
A spokesman for the Taliban has said the nation’s new government will be announced soon, but when asked he did not specify when.
Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference that after capturing Panjshir, the last holdout of resistance forces, the Taliban now controlled the entire country, however the group’s claim has been disputed by resistance fighters who said they were still in position and fighting.
“We assure the people of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails,” the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) said in a tweet.
Ahmad Massoud, the leader of the resistance forces, said in a Twitter message that he was safe.
Sam Hancock6 September 2021 09:08
38 minutes ago
Johnson to give Afghanistan statement later today
Following my earlier post about what MPs might throw at Boris Johnson today, when Parliament returns from its summer recess, the official Commons schedule for Monday has been released.
The prime minister will deliver “an oral statement on Afghanistan” at around 3.30pm, the chamber has confirmed.
Sam Hancock6 September 2021 08:51

1 hour ago
Minister backtracks on claim about veteran taking own life due to Afghanistan fall
Britain’s Armed Forces minister has now backtracked and said he may have been wrong to suggest that a military veteran he knew, who served in Afghanistan, took their own life following the fall of the country to the Taliban.
During a round of broadcast interviews, James Heappey told Sky News that he understood that at least one veteran had taken their life in recent days “because of, erm, the feelings over what’s happened in Afghanistan”.
(You can read, and watch, what Mr Heappey said in full in my earlier post.)
However, appearing later on BBC Breakfast, he said the report he was referring to may have been “inaccurate”.
“Since I mentioned that to your colleague Kay Burley on Sky only 20 minutes ago we have had a number of reports that the thing I was referring to was inaccurate,” he said.
“We are looking very, very carefully at whether it is true whether or not someone has taken their life in the last few days.”
Sam Hancock6 September 2021 08:21
1 hour ago
PM to face grilling over Afghanistan crisis upon return to Parliament
Boris Johnson is expected to reiterate his pledge to use “every economic, political and diplomatic lever” to help those left behind in Afghanistan by the UK in a statement he will make to the House of Commons on Monday.
The address will mark Parliament’s return from its summer recess and is set to see the PM and foreign secretary grilled by highly-critical MPs.
Both Mr Johnson and Dominic Raab have been subject to criticism over the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and their response since the Taliban takeover.
Thousands of Afghans who worked with Britain, their families and other vulnerable citizens are feared to have been left behind when UK troops departed Kabul last month. And there have been warnings that the UK could face a heightened terror threat if extremism is allowed to flourish once again in Afghanistan.
Speaking in the week marking the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks that prompted the US and its allies to go to war in the nation, Mr Johnson is expected to update MPs on the new resettlement programme for Afghans to come to the UK in the coming years.
No 10 said he will also announce an additional £5m to help military charities offering support on mental health issues to veterans with the aim of ensuring “no veteran’s request for help will go unanswered”.
It will be the first time the PM has faced MPs in the chamber since 18 August, when they were recalled for a day for an emergency debate in the wake of the fall of Kabul.
It comes after the armed forces general Sir Nick Carter admitted on Sunday that “everybody got it wrong” about the pace of the Taliban’s march recapture of Afghanistan, but denied there was a failure in military intelligence.
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Taliban completes conquest of Afghanistan after seizing Panjshir

By Bill Roggio | September 6, 2021 | admin@longwarjournal.org | @billroggio


The Taliban took control of Bazarak and Panjshir province is under its control. Video of the Taliban raising its banner over the Bazarak district center. pic.twitter.com/AimalwgtnF
— Bill Roggio (@billroggio) September 6, 2021
Click to expand...
Bill Roggio
@billroggio
2h

The Taliban took control of Bazarak and Panjshir province is under its control. Video of the Taliban raising its banner over the Bazarak district center.
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1434852839147327495
View: https://twitter.com/billroggio/status/1434852839147327495?s=20




The Taliban completed its military conquest of Afghanistan and took control of the mountainous province of Panjshir after seven days of heavy fighting. The fall of Panjshir puts the Taliban in full control of the country and eliminates the final vestige of organized resistance to its rule.

The Taliban began its assault on Panjshir on Aug. 30, the day the U.S. military withdrew its last forces from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. The Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital of Kabul and 32 of the country’s 34 provinces on Aug. 16 after a three and a half month long offensive that began on May 1.
After the fall of Kabul, the National Resistance Front, led by former Vice President and National Directorate of Security chief Amrullah Saleh, and Panjshiri warlord Ahmad Massoud, organized inside Panjshir and several neighboring districts in Parwan and Baghlan province. Saleh and Massaoud announced their opposition to the Taliban.

Saleh organized thousands of members of the now-defunct Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, including Commandos, Special Forces and other units, and attempted to expand control beyond the Panjshir Valley. However, Saleh’s forays outside of Panjshir may have overextended his forces that would have been better used to defend the province and establish a secure base.

The Taliban attacked Panjshir, a mountainous fortress with few entrances and narrow passes, from multiple directions, and was initially repelled by the resistance forces. But the Taliban pressed its assault and was able to punch through the resistance’s defenses at the main pass in the south near the town of Gulbahar, and the pass at Khawak in the east.
The Taliban quickly advanced up the narrow road and took control of Bazarak, the provincial capital on Sept. 5. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, announced on Sept. 6 that Panjshir province “was completely conquered.”

Ahmad Massoud, whose father led the Northern Alliance against the Taliban in the 1990s and was assassinated by Al Qaeda just two days prior to 9/11, vowed to continue the fight against the Taliban and called on all Afghans to continue its resistance. Without his base in Panjshir, Massoud’s promise to effectively continue the fight against the Taliban is a difficult proposition. Massoud’s forces may be able to launch guerrilla attacks from the mountains, but its ability to challenge Taliban rule will be limited.
English translation of HE @AhmadMassoud01, leader of the National Resistance Front, message: pic.twitter.com/kUgGaxbTcD
— National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (@nrfafg) September 6, 2021
Click to expand...
From the beginning, the resistance’s odds of successfully holding out against the Taliban were always long [See FDD’s Long war Journal report, After fall of Kabul, resistance to Taliban emerges in Panjshir.]

The Taliban had nearly all of the advantages in its favor, including numbers, equipment, and the quality of its fighting force. The Taliban’s military has been forged in 20 years of war against the U.S. military, NATO, and Afghan forces, while Massoud’s forces were safe in Panjshir and Saleh’s remnants were demoralized during the final Taliban offensive. The Taliban was able to mobilize its forces from across Afghanistan, while the resistance’s numbers were limited. Additionally, the Taliban was flush with weapons, munitions and gear that it seized from the Afghan military.

The National Resistance Front’s only advantage was terrain, but it was no match for the Taliban’s will to take the province and end the final challenge to dominating the country and establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Posted for fair use
www.longwarjournal.org

Taliban completes conquest of Afghanistan after seizing Panjshir | FDD's Long War Journal

The mountainous fortress province of Panjshir fell only seven days after the Taliban launched its assault. The Taliban is now in complete control of the country, and is set to declare its Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
www.longwarjournal.org
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
The taleban et al are LIARS like their father satan is a liar. The places they "captured" are OUTSIDE of the actual pansjir valley. I see no reason to doubt NRF claims they still control the actual valley.
F=_÷#@ the taleban who already got caught lying abot things REPEATEDLY.:arg:
 
Zagdid

Zagdid

Veteran Member
Doomer Doug said:
How can I increase the font size on post 13? It is unreadable.
Click to expand...
Click on the page. Should open up in a document reader format. (mine did) There's a top bar that appears when engaged with cursor. Click on plus sign to magnify. (worked great for me)
 
Zahra

Zahra

Veteran Member
Best source I've found to see what's really going on in Panjshir & Afghanistan --

View: https://youtu.be/xtoOK86mW8Y


Arnab Goswami on The Debate | Taliban Rents Pakistan Army To Fight Massoud's Northern Alliance - YouTube

Pak ISI chief is in Kabul, 2 Pak army battalions plus tanks, artillery and planes fighting side by side with Taliban & Al Qaeda against NRF in Panjshir. Pakastani fighter shot down by NRF, Pak has over 20 KIA & many troops captured by NRF. While accepting billions of dollars in aid from the USA plus 2.8 Billion from the IMF before agreeing to allow the US to use Pak airspace for Afghanistan withdrawal, the Paks have been harboring, supporting, and orchestrating the Taliban takeover - playing both sides of the fence! There's SO much info in the videos and live feeds on this channel it'll blow your mind...
 
Last edited:
jward

jward

passin' thru
I've adjusted the size on post 13, I hope this helps. If not, try clicking on, and expanding
the image in your browser.

..and yes, the propaganda machines are on full phog re: Pansjir- (and elsewhere)


Doomer Doug said:
How can I increase the font size on post 13? It is unreadable.
Click to expand...
 
SSTemplar

SSTemplar

Veteran Member
This all seems exciting but we armed the side we want to win. The globalist have a reason for that. I say let Afghanistan take care of its problems we need to pay attention to our problems.
 
Griz3752

Griz3752

Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Publius said:
To bad it's not posable to get supplies to these Afghanistan people fighting the Taliban they can use it.
Click to expand...
IIRC, such a supply effort to Afghanis was the precursor to the two decade long shit show we just got out of. I think if there are Afghans who want to resist the Taliban that's good news but, this is most likely just gang warfare for turf w/ Muslims on both sides.

Many forget or weren't aware that Hamid Karzai was a junior minister/undersecretary in the original Taliban govt of A'stan. He also had family, at least one of which was hip-deep in the drug trade (a poppy warlord).

Just my opinion but I think we should keep the hell out of this which includes not funding any sort of training or PMC ops.
 
Last edited:
jward

jward

passin' thru




Babak Taghvaee - Μπάπακ Τακβαίε - بابک تقوایی
@BabakTaghvaee

#BREAKING: Anti-#Pakistan protest in #Kabul right now. Supporters of \National Resistance Force have now gathered in front of the Pakistani embassy protesting over the drone strikes of #Pakistani Air Force against #NRF in #Panjshir that led to death of several of its key figures.
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1434945138728525826
View: https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/1434945138728525826?s=20





BabakTaghvaee
On call of #AhmadMassoud leader of the National Resistance Forces, people from #Kabul, & Mazar-i-Sharif have started protesting against #Pakistan & #Taliban terrorist organization. Video recorded minutes ago shows the protest in Mazar-i-Sharif.
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1434970384772775940
View: https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/1434970384772775940?s=20
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
news18.com

Resistance No More? Panjshir Falls to Taliban as Top Commanders Killed, Amrullah Saleh at Undisclosed Location
Manoj Gupta

3-4 minutes​


The Taliban said they had completely captured Panjshir. (Twitter)

The Taliban said they had "completely" captured Panjshir. (Twitter)

Deafening volleys of celebratory gunfire resounded all over Kabul and Facebook accounts were full of mentions of the fall of Panjshir.
  • CNN-News18
  • Last Updated:September 06, 2021, 11:24 IST


In an ominous end to Afghanistan‘s resistance, the Taliban have successfully taken over few territories of Panjshir Valley — the last bastion of the war-torn nation untouched by the hardliners — inflicting massive damage and casualties on the Resistance Force led by caretaker President Amrullah Saleh who is safe after bombardment at the house where he was staying but has been moved to an undisclosed location.

Several top commanders of the Resistance Force, including spokesperson Fahim Dashti and others like Gul Haider Khan, Munib Amiri and Wadood, a nephew of Ahmad Shah Massoud, have been killed.
Dashti was a spokesman of the Resistance Front, a senior member of the Jamiat-e-Islami party and a member of the Federation of Afghan Journalists.
resistance-force.jpg

(From left) Fahim Dashti, General Wadood and Munib Amiri of the Resistance Force were killed during battle with the Taliban. (News18)

Sources in the Islamist militia said that the group have seized the valley north of Kabul after a heavy fight. Sources said the house where Saleh was staying
was bombarded by Taliban helicopters. He is, however, safe at an undisclosed location.

ALSO READ | ‘Shoot Me Twice in the Head’: What Amrullah Saleh Told His Guard Amid Fears of Taliban Takeover

Deafening volleys of celebratory gunfire resounded all over Kabul and Facebook accounts were full of mentions of the fall of Panjshir.
There had been reports of heavy fighting and casualties in the valley, which is walled off by mountains except for a narrow entrance and had held out against Soviet occupation as well as the previous Taliban government that was ousted in 2001. The Taliban seized Kabul on August 15 after rapid advances across Afghanistan.
CNN-News18 earlier reported that Pakistani forces are aiding the Taliban in their fight against the last remaining foothold of opposition Panjshir Valley.

ALSO READ | EXCLUSIVE | Pakistan ‘Helping’ Taliban Fight Panjshir Resistance, ‘Airdrops Special Forces’

Pakistan is providing air support to Taliban fighters in Panjshir, the sources said, adding that some Special Forces have been airdropped to fight the Resistance.
The sources said all major supplies and roads have been blocked by the militant group. Both sides - Taliban and Panjshir resistance - have sustained major casualties in the ongoing operations, they added. Yesterday, ISI Chief Hameed Faiz had extended his support to the Taliban, in a visit to Kabul.

Saleh had written to the United Nations, asking national and international aid agencies to immediately mobilise their resources to end the “war crimes” committed by the hardliners.
www.news18.com

Panjshir Falls to Taliban as Top Commanders Killed, Saleh at Undisclosed Location After Bombardment - News18

Deafening volleys of celebratory gunfire resounded all over Kabul and Facebook accounts were full of mentions of the fall of Panjshir.
www.news18.com www.news18.com
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
Pakistan climbs out of the cesspool and reveals itself as our enemy.
The level of damage the demon spawn democrats have done is beyond comprehension. Pakis have nukes that will end up in afghanistan.
 
Zagdid

Zagdid

Veteran Member
sputniknews.com

US Troops 'Will Be Going Back Into Afghanistan': Lindsey Graham

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has been ramping up calls to impeach US President Joe Biden over the hectic troop pullout from Afghanistan, insisting that the “derelict” commander-in-chief had “ignored sound advice” in relation to the...
sputniknews.com sputniknews.com

US Troops 'Will Be Going Back Into Afghanistan': Lindsey Graham
Yesterday (Updated: Yesterday) Aleksandra Serebriakova

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has been ramping up calls to impeach US President Joe Biden over the hectic troop pullout from Afghanistan, insisting that the “derelict” commander-in-chief had “ignored sound advice” in relation to the withdrawal operation.
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) believes that American troops will return to Afghanistan despite the chaotic military withdrawal from the country that was completed on 30 August.

“We will be going back to Afghanistan as we went back into Iraq and Syria,” Graham said in an interview with BBC.
Click to expand...
Replying to BBC HARDTalk Presenter Stephen Sackur, who asked whether he sincerely believes that Washington will be willing to go back to the country that is now under de-facto control of the Taliban*, Graham said that the US simply had no other choice.

"We'll have to because the [terror] threat will be so large,” the senator argued, adding that Afghanistan could turn into a hotspot for “radical Islamic behaviour”, as well as a safe haven for al-Qaeda* terrorists.

According to Graham, concerns for the rise of terrorist elements is exactly the reason why the US “went back” to Iraq, where “5,000 troops” are stationed today.
BBC reported in July following the talks between Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Joe Biden that there were currently 2,500 US troops in Iraq helping local forces to repel the Daesh* threat.
Graham claims that the US has few options regarding should deal with the current situation in Afghanistan.
“Here is my solution: help the resistance in the Panjshir valley, the Taliban will not be able to govern Afghanistan, they are hated by the Afghan people. What’s gonna happen over time as you see the resistance rise? ISIS* will come after the Taliban large and the entire country is going to fracture in the next year, creating a perfect storm for Western interests to be attacked.”
Click to expand...
The Republican senator said that in response, the United States could either take a “that’s no longer my problem” stance or a “hit before they hit you” approach.

Last month, Lindsay Graham said that he feared that a “parade of horribles” was about to unfold in Afghanistan: “The chance of another 9/11 just went through the roof,” he said in the interview with CBS.
The senator had previously called for the impeachment of Joe Biden over the Afghan withdrawal fiasco and evacuation chaos, saying that the US president had “been derelict in his duties as commander-in-chief”.

“I don’t think he got bad advice and took it. I think he ignored sound advice,” Graham raged. “I think the best you could describe is dereliction of duty at the highest level.”
Click to expand...

The Taliban forces took Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on 15 August almost without a fight, and proclaimed the end of the 20-year-long war the next day. The militants still continued fighting the National Resistance Front in the province of Panjshir, the only territory in Afghanistan which is believed to not have fallen under the group’s control. However, the Taliban had announced several times in the last few days that the group had finally managed to capture the province, with the National Resistance Front repeatedly refuting these claims.

*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS), al-Qaeda and the Taliban are terrorist groups outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
Now that Pakistan has outed itself as a Terrorist state the USA can terminate ALL aid to it and let it rot, plus ban all travel to it etc.
Afghanistan is gone into the china sphere of influence permanently now. Both russia and china will find isis really runs things in afghanistan now. China will find its own graveyard of empires when it tries to control taleba/isis/alqueda/etc
 
Melodi

Melodi

Disaster Cat
Doug beat me to it, but the really concerning thing here is not that the Taliban managed to subdue their last "rebel" (aka Western-supported) province, but that they did so because Pakistan directly intervened. I have heard they sent planes and aircover but I don't have a link to that, and they most certainly helped with supplies and probably their own military.

The US should sanction Pakistan immediately with the serious threats of further escalation like the removal of US embassies and putting them on terrorist "watch lists" and the like.

The current vacant air in DC probably will try to avoid doing anything and "hope" for the best, but I don't see "hope" getting very far with this.

There have been tons of "cross-over" tribes and families in the areas we now call Afghanistan and now call Pakistan, in some places even the border is pretty "fluid." That makes it even harder for Western Governments to figure out how to navigate.
 
Doomer Doug

Doomer Doug

TB Fanatic
The NRF was, to use a popular term, STABBED IN THE BACK BY PAKISTAN, using drones, air strikes and elite ground forces.

Melodi, the key thing here is clearly Pakistan's civilian command and control systems now belong FULLY to terrorists and not the PM etc.

Further, the ISI, Pakistan's version of the CIA felt it had the stones to by pass civilian authority and engage in military action in another country on behalf of isis/taleban etc.

Of course, the even worse option is the civilian command authority, who is a british educated yuppie? Gave the order and has gone over to the dark side taking the nuke launch codes with him.:hof:

Anyway, now we got two biden and this paki gang where the 64,000 $ question is, who got them thar nukes with their launch codes. I could throw Turkey's Erdogan in the mix if he ever got access to the airport vault with THOSE BOMBS.
:D biden is the :poop: head that just keeps :poop: ing and :poop: ing! :arg:
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Key Figures In The Taliban's New Theocratic Government
Frud Bezhan

8-9 minutes​


The Taliban has formed a new, theocratic government in Afghanistan, weeks after the August 15 collapse of the internationally recognized administration in Kabul and within days of international troops' departure.
Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, a hard-line cleric and former chief justice, has been named supreme leader. He will have the ultimate say in political, religious, and military affairs in the country under a system reminiscent of the clerically led establishment in neighboring Iran since 1979.

Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, a founding member of the group in the early 1990s who also served as foreign minister and a deputy prime minister during the Taliban's regime from 1996-2001, has been named head of government and will oversee day-to-day affairs.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban who previously served as one of Akhunzada's three deputies, will be Akhund's first deputy.
Mawlawi Hanafi, a senior Taliban figure who served on the negotiating team at the peace talks in Qatar, has been named as Akhund's second deputy.

Other key positions have been filled by two other deputies: Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of the late Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, was named defense minister.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani network, a powerful Taliban faction, will serve as interior minister.
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, a key Taliban political leader who has worked as a key diplomatic envoy, has been named deputy foreign minister.
One of the Taliban government's first tasks will be trying to open diplomatic and economic channels while seeking recognition from foreign governments, some of whom in the West have already signaled policies of "engagement" without such recognition.
All positions were named as being in an "acting" capacity.

Mullah Hassan Akhund
Akhund is one of the Taliban's most senior figures. He was a founding member of the group in the early 1990s and a deputy prime minister during the Taliban's regime from 1996-2001. He also served as foreign minister and a provincial governor during that time.
Akhund, who hails from Kandahar, considered the birthplace of the Taliban, was believed to have been a close associate of late spiritual leader Mullah Omar.
During the Taliban's insurgency, Akhund was a senior military commander. He also headed the Taliban's leadership council, the group's highest decision-making body, which is based in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.
Akhund has been on the United Nations terror list since 2001, when the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban from power. The UN has described him as one of the "most effective Taliban commanders." It says he was born between 1955 and 1958.
Ibraheem Bahiss, an independent Afghan research analyst, says that considering Akhund's seniority and status it is not a "huge surprise" that he was appointed as the new head of government.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (front) leaves after peace talks with Afghan senior politicians in Moscow in May 2019.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar (front) leaves after peace talks with Afghan senior politicians in Moscow in May 2019.

Mullah Baradar
Abdul Ghani Baradar, a veteran Taliban leader, is the most public face of the three-decade-old militant Islamist group.
The 53-year-old Baradar served as the Taliban's second-in-command under Mullah Omar and coordinated the group's military operations in Afghanistan before his arrest in neighboring Pakistan in 2010.
Baradar was jailed by Pakistani authorities after he reportedly facilitated talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban command without the approval of Pakistan, the group's main foreign sponsor.
Baradar spent eight years in prison in Pakistan, where many Taliban leaders fled following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 that toppled their brutal regime.

He was released in 2018 at the behest of the United States following the launch of direct talks between the militants and Washington, becoming the head of the Taliban's political office in Qatar and chief negotiator. Baradar signed the February 2020 agreement with U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in a ceremony in Doha.
"Baradar has been a key figure in Taliban leadership and diplomacy," said Graeme Smith, an author on Afghanistan and a consultant for the International Crisis Group (ICG), a Brussels-based think tank.
But he says it would be a mistake to focus exclusively on any single Taliban leader. "The Taliban leadership is much more collective than the top-down hierarchies of other organizations," Smith said. "They consult widely, not just among the leadership, but also a number of councils within the group."
Hailing from the southern province of Uruzgan, Baradar is a Durrani Pashtun from the Popalzai tribe. Southern Pashtuns make up the bulk of the Taliban's leadership. His close relationship with the late Mullah Omar earned him the nom de guerre "Baradar," or "brother."

Mullah Yaqoob
Mullah Yaqoob was virtually unknown until 2015, when the Taliban acknowledged the death of his father, Mullah Omar, who had died more than two years earlier in Pakistan.
Since then, the ambitious Yaqoob has soared through the Taliban's ranks. He consolidated power after his failed bid to succeed his father that year, first becoming deputy leader before being named as a military chief.
An undated image believed to show Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.

An undated image believed to show Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
Yaqoob, believed to be in his 30s, oversaw military operations in 13 southern and western provinces despite his lack of battlefield experience. Yaqoob was a graduate of several hard-line Islamic seminaries in Pakistan.
Experts say the prestige of being Mullah Omar's eldest son elevated Yaqoob's standing among the Taliban's field commanders and its rank and file.
"Mullah Omar was a charismatic leader and there remains huge respect for him, his family, and even his close associates, many of whom have been promoted to influential positions over the years," said Obaid Ali, an expert on the insurgency at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul.

Sirajuddin Haqqani
Sirajuddin Haqqani is a deputy Taliban leader and a military chief who oversaw operations in 21 eastern and northern provinces. He is also the leader of the Haqqani network, the most lethal and powerful faction of the Taliban. The network is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
Experts say the network has close links with Al-Qaeda and Pakistan's military establishment, which has long been accused of providing safe haven and material support to the Taliban.
The wanted poster issued by the U.S. FBI for Sirajuddin Haqqani.

The wanted poster issued by the U.S. FBI for Sirajuddin Haqqani.
The network -- based in the tribal areas of northwest Pakistan -- has been blamed for some of the deadliest attacks against civilians and Afghan and foreign security forces, gaining notoriety for its use of suicide bombers in complex, urban attacks.
Haqqani, who has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, is the son of the late radical Islamist leader Jalaluddin Haqqani, who was a key resistance commander in the war against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai
Stanekzai was Baradar's deputy at the Taliban's political office in Qatar.
Stanekzai trained at and graduated from prestigious military schools in India in the 1980s before he joined the mujahedin, the U.S.-backed Islamist guerrillas who fought Soviet forces during their decade-long occupation of Afghanistan.
Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai speaks to reporters after talks in Moscow in May 2019.

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai speaks to reporters after talks in Moscow in May 2019.
When the Taliban seized most of Afghanistan in 1996, following a devastating four-year civil war, Stanekzai was appointed deputy foreign minister.
A fluent English speaker, he is a key leader in the Taliban's political wing and has been one of the group's key envoys to foreign diplomats and media.
gandhara.rferl.org

Key Figures In The Taliban's New Theocratic Government

The Taliban has announced a new Afghan government some three weeks after seizing control of the country from the internationally recognized government of former President Ashraf Ghani. We look at the key figures in the still-unrecognized administration.
gandhara.rferl.org gandhara.rferl.org
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Sorry..this isn't panjshir but it is part o' the ongoing story o' A'stans fall n the aftermath...



The Cavell Group
@TCG_CrisisRisks
8h

Afghanistan: Another protest just started in Dashti-E-Barchi, Kabul. All females and many more planned today. A big test for the Taliban. The new harder line government line-up is to ensure control & security in the country. Kabul is a very different social city this time though.
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1435451774698070017
View: https://twitter.com/TCG_CrisisRisks/status/1435451774698070017?s=20


------------------------




Nabih
nabihbulos

#Taliban pushed around both myself and f@yamphotoor trying to cover a women's protest in #Kabul, and tried to make Marcus delete footage. Said we had no permission to cover this. Changes already happening in #Afghanistan.

2:10 AM · Sep 8, 2021·Twitter for Android

Natiq Malikzada
@natiqmalikzada
· 4h
Taliban to women in Kabul who are protesting the dissolution of the Ministry of Women's Affairs & the removal of women from the affairs of the Afghan gov: "Your protests are meaningless, & you are all infidels, if you do not leave here in few moments, one of you will not survive"
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1435519522908172294
View: https://twitter.com/natiqmalikzada/status/1435519522908172294?s=20
 
Last edited:
jward

jward

passin' thru
Power transfer in Afghanistan
23 Sep, 04:36Updated at: 23 Sep, 04:40

Russia-China-led bloc to pool efforts to ward off Afghan threats — military chief
As the chief of the Russian General Staff said, the SCO member states consider the export of terrorist activity, the worsening humanitarian situation over an influx of Afghan refugees, and growing drug trafficking as the main threats emanating from Afghanistan


DONGUZ TRAINING GROUND /Orenburg Region/, September 23. /TASS/. The chiefs of the General Staffs from the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have agreed to coordinate their work for preventing threats emanating from the territory of Afghanistan, Chief of the Russian General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov said on Thursday.
The meeting of the military delegations of Russia, India, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Belarus was held on the sidelines of the SCO’s Peace Mission 2021 anti-terror drills running at the Donguz practice range in the Orenburg Region in the Urals.

"The participants in the meeting analyzed the situation in Afghanistan and its impact on creating pre-requisites for the growth of security threats in the SCO member states. They agreed to hold systematic consultations among our countries to prevent destabilizing processes from spilling over to the territories of the organization’s member states," Gerasimov said after the meeting.
As the chief of the Russian General Staff said, the SCO member states consider the export of terrorist activity, the worsening humanitarian situation over an influx of Afghan refugees and growing drug trafficking as the main threats emanating from Afghanistan.

The Peace Mission 2021 anti-terror exercise is running on September 20-24. Overall, the drills involve more than 3,400 troops and over 600 items of armament, military and special hardware. Russia is represented in the drills by about 2,000 personnel and over 350 weapon systems.
These maneuvers have been held every two years since the organization’s creation. The first such exercise took place on the territory of Kazakhstan and China in August 2003.

Russia-China-led bloc must be prepared to fight terrorists’ new tactics — Gerasimov
The armed forces of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization need to be prepared to jointly fight terrorists’ new tactics, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on the sidelines of the Peace Mission 2021 anti-terror drills in the Urals.
"In particular, it is necessary to practice fighting unmanned aerial vehicles, providing IT security and preventing terrorist attacks with the use of chemical and biological weapons," Gerasimov stressed.

Posted For Fair Use
tass.com

Russia-China-led bloc to pool efforts to ward off Afghan threats — military chief

As the chief of the Russian General Staff said, the SCO member states consider the export of terrorist activity, the worsening humanitarian situation over an influx of Afghan refugees, and growing drug trafficking as the main threats emanating from Afghanistan
tass.com tass.com
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
SAARC Foreign Ministers' Meet Cancelled After Pakistan Insists on Taliban's Participation
Aditya Raj Kaul

2-3 minutes


Pakistan's demand was unanimously opposed by all SAARC member countries, the sources said. (Image: Reuters)

Pakistan's demand was unanimously opposed by all SAARC member countries, the sources said. (Image: Reuters)
Pakistan's demand was unanimously opposed by all SAARC member countries, the sources said.
  • Last Updated:September 21, 2021, 23:50 IST
The meeting of SAARC Foreign Ministers, which was scheduled to be held on September 25 in New York, has been cancelled due to lack of consent from the member countries over the participation of Afghanistan, a war-torn country that is now being governed by the Taliban, multiple diplomatic sources at the SAARC have confirmed.
This comes after the Imran Khan-led Pakistan government demanded the member states to allow the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to send a representative at the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) foreign ministers’ annual meet, which was to take place on the sidelines of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Pakistan’s demand was unanimously opposed by all SAARC member countries, the sources said.

ALSO READ: As PM Modi Heads For Quad Meet, Here’s What The Agenda Could Look Like
The Pakistan government also wanted the SAARC chair Nepal to guarantee that the erstwhile Ashraf Ghani-led Afghan government will not represent Afghanistan at the SAARC meeting, diplomatic sources said.
“SAARC Chair Nepal has refused to give any such guarantee to Pakistan or Taliban leadership and hence the meeting stands cancelled," the sources confirmed.
Last year, the meeting was conducted virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
SAARC comprises eight Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. States with observer status include Australia, China, the European Union, Iran, Japan, Mauritius, Myanmar, South Korea, and the United States.
www.news18.com

SAARC Foreign Ministers' Meet Cancelled After Pakistan Insists on Taliban's Participation - News18

Pakistan's demand was unanimously opposed by all SAARC member countries, the sources said.
www.news18.com www.news18.com
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top