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Afghan NSA warns of possible influx of Taliban recruits from Pakistan
Afghan National Security Advisor (NSA) Hamdullah Mohib said Friday that as many as 15,000 militants could enter Afghanistan from Pakistan to fight the Afghan Security and Defense Forces (ANSDF).
Speaking in an interview with Sky News on Friday, Mohib stated that Pakistan has been a safe haven for the Taliban and that the group has been using Pakistani Madrasas, religious schools, to recruit fighters.
“The Taliban have had safe havens in Pakistan throughout this period they enjoyed their leaders living there at peace and in Pakistan; Their injured were treated in Pakistani hospitals, they had military and emotional support and financial support from elements within the Pakistani military establishment and it continues to be the case,” Mohib stated.
“Every year the Taliban were defeated in Afghanistan but they had an opportunity to recuperate to re-recruit people from Madrasas in Pakistan and bring them back the next year.”
“This year, we estimate that ten thousand fighters have come in from Pakistani madrasas to fight in Afghanistan this fighting season and their intelligence shows that they could be as many as 15 000 more new recruits coming towards Afghanistan.
Referring to the fall of districts to the Taliban, Mohib stated that it was difficult for the Afghan forces to supply remote outposts and districts.
“Indeed, the vacuum created by the withdrawal of foreign air power made it very difficult for us to supply some of those remote outposts and districts by air so it had a cascading effect but none of the territories the Taliban has taken is permanent the Afghan people themselves are rising against the Taliban in their own villages and districts,” he said,
“So much of this progress that the Taliban are celebrating is very temporary,” Mohib noted.
Meanwhile, the negotiation teams of the Afghan government and the Taliban last week agreed to continue the stalled talks in Doha, Qatar.
Mohib, however, reiterated that the Taliban has no intention of bringing peace to Afghanistan.
“We haven’t yet seen the Taliban negotiate in earnest; they’re sticking to a very rigid point and want to use the negotiating as a point to further their military agenda and lobby for their military purposes. So far there hasn’t been any movement from the Taliban that could be classified as genuine efforts for peace,” Mohib said.
Mohib added that the Taliban, so far, has not broken ties with the “terrorist groups”, a claim that has been constantly rejected by the group.
“It would be impossible for them to separate themselves from these groups…while their management may be different their management structures they all rely on those very basic fundamental, fundamentalistic ideologies that give them the base of operations and they cooperate very closely as an example the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is an affiliate of the Taliban but it has pledged allegiance to Daesh yet they collaborate very closely so it’s a collaboration of these three groups in destabilizing Afghanistan and creating a ground for uh terrorism to flourish.”
“We cannot really separate them and put them in separate categories and for the Taliban to say that they have severed ties with any group has been proven wrong by the Afghan government several times by arresting Al-Qaeda members and operating against Al-Qaeda elements in Taliban controlled areas,” Mohib said.
Bayat Foundation has announced it has distributed Ramadan aid packages to dozens of needy families in Bamyan province.
These aid packages include flour, oil, and rice, intending to assist those in need during the holy month of Ramadan.
Officials from the foundation stated that these donations will be extended to needy families in other provinces of the country by the end of Ramadan.
“As part of the Bayat Foundation’s ongoing assistance, today we are distributing Ramadan aid packages in Bamyan province. These packages contain flour, rice, and oil,” said Sayed Hakim, a representative of the Bayat Foundation in Bamyan.
Meanwhile, recipients of the aid have called on other charitable organizations to also rush to assist those in need during this month.
One recipient expressed gratitude: “Thanks to the Bayat Foundation for considering help for people like us.”
Another recipient added: “Thank you to the Bayat Foundation for helping us, and we hope that in the future, more aid will be provided to the poor people of Bamyan.”
In addition to supporting public welfare projects, healthcare, and those affected by natural disasters, the Bayat Foundation has been providing food and non-food aid to thousands of needy families in the center and provinces of Afghanistan during each Ramadan for nearly two decades.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Thursday called on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to take visible and verifiable action against militants who, it said, enjoy sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.
“Terrorist threat against Pakistan from terrorist entities including TTP, BLA and ISKP is our foremost concern,” Shafqat Ali Khan, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, said. “We continue to impress upon interim authorities to take visible and verifiable action against them, keeping in view their commitments given to the international community to dismantle terrorist infrastructure and groups from the Afghan soil.”
Regarding Afghan refugees, he confirmed that the deadline for their deportation remains unchanged. Pakistan had set March 31 as the deadline for Afghan Citizenship Card holders and illegal foreigners to leave Pakistan voluntarily.
On border issues, Shafaqat Ali Khan informed that the Torkham border was reopened on Wednesday, with pedestrian travel allowed from Friday. The border will remain open until April 15, and a permanent solution is being sought. There won’t be any construction by Afghan side inside the Pakistani territory, he said.
On militancy, he said that Pakistan is taking robust actions, but it is impossible to completely seal off the border with Afghanistan.
IEA has previously rejected Pakistan’s claims that terrorists have sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
Acting Minister of Education Habibullah Agha says content contradicting religion and Afghan traditions will be removed from the curriculum, and that in addition to religious studies, the ministry is also focusing on modern sciences.
Marking the beginning of the 1404 academic year in Kabul, Habibullah Agha stressed that both religious and modern sciences are essential nowadays in Afghanistan.
He emphasized that the Islamic Emirate is committed to both fields of knowledge and urged people not to be deceived by negative propaganda.
“In this era, we have a great need to learn modern sciences. We must progress with these sciences and prepare ourselves to compete with the world,” said Agha.
He clarified that only through mastering modern sciences can the nation safeguard its people, government, health, and geography.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi, who was also present at the event, reaffirmed the leadership’s commitment to fulfilling the Ministry of Education’s needs to establish a high-quality education system in Afghanistan.
Salam Hanafi stressed that the ministry must work to meet the country’s current educational demands.
He stated: “Enhancing teachers’ capabilities, addressing literacy issues, monitoring classroom activities, and improving the quality of both religious and public schools—these are the responsibilities of the Ministry of Education.”
Meanwhile, several government officials claimed that despite efforts by adversaries to tarnish the reputation of the IEA through a ‘cold war’, Afghanistan continues to make progress every day.
The 1404 academic year however began without reopening schools for girls above the sixth grade.
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