Several senior anti-Taliban and influential regional leaders have expressed interest in negotiating with the Taliban to form a government in Afghanistan. They also plan to hold direct meetings with Taliban leaders in a few weeks to form a new front to negotiate a future government. A member of a group of regional leaders shared the information.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has vowed to launch more airstrikes against the IS branch in response to the ISKP bombing at Kabul airport on Thursday. News from Reuters, AFP and Al-Jazeera.
Khalid Nur, son of Ata Mohammad Nur, the once powerful governor of Afghanistan’s northern Balkh province, said the group of local leaders interested in negotiating with the Taliban included influential ethnic Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum and a few others. They were opposed to the establishment of Taliban control in Afghanistan.
In an interview with Reuters from an undisclosed location, Khalid Noor, 26, said: “We want to reach a consensus together. Because none of us can solve this problem in Afghanistan alone. Therefore, besides the support of the people, it is important for all the political parties of the country, especially the local leaders, to sit in talks with the ruling party.
Ata Noor and Abdul Rashid Dostum are among the few regional leaders who have become particularly well-known in Afghanistan’s four decades of conflict. The two leaders fled the country after Taliban fighters recently captured the crucial northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif without a fight. A number of top US-backed Afghan government officials have fled the country since Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15. President Ashraf Ghani and many members of the Afghan army have fled.
However, the behind-the-scenes talks in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return to power through a surprise military operation are seen as an indication of a return to normalcy for the country’s regional warlords.
According to most analysts, it is not possible for anyone to rule Afghanistan in the long run without the support of ethnic groups with different characteristics and diversity.
The Taliban, a predominantly Pashtun group, did not support the Tajiks, Uzbeks and other minority groups when they ruled Afghanistan before 2001. But this time the Taliban have enlisted their support to oust Ashraf Ghani’s government.
Ahmed Masood is one of the leaders who are preparing to fight the Taliban in some places even after the fall of Kabul. He also said last week that they hoped to sit down with the Taliban to form an inclusive government. If they fail, they are ready to fight.
However, it is unclear exactly how much public support there is behind leaders like Ata Nur and Dostum. There are widespread allegations of corruption against Ata Noor. Dostam has been charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated robbery. However, both leaders have denied the allegations against them.
The Taliban has already established itself as a powerful military force. They now have about 2,000 armed armored vehicles and about 40 warplanes. There are also weapons left behind by Afghan government troops who chased them away. These have enriched the Taliban’s arsenal. Yet Nur thinks the Taliban will not be able to stand up to the resistance even if it wants to.
“History testifies that no one in Afghanistan can survive by force,” said the Western-educated politician. It’s impossible. It doesn’t matter how much international support there is for the Taliban. If they insist, they will not be able to survive. ‘
The Taliban will soon take over the airport
A Taliban official told Reuters on Sunday that they expected US forces to take over Kabul airport soon. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they were waiting for US consent to take full control of the airport. He added that the Taliban has a team of technical experts and highly skilled engineers to take charge of it.
Makhor calls for safe zone in Kabul
French President Emmanuel Macho says France and the United Kingdom will call on the United Nations on Monday to establish a safe zone in Kabul to keep humanitarian activities going. “It’s very important,” he said. Because if it is established, it will set up a framework for the United Nations to carry out emergency operations and keep pressure on the Taliban. He made the remarks in a commentary published in a French weekly.
