Deteriorating Afghan situation
Another 46 Afghan army soldiers fled across the border near Chitral and into Pakistan over the weekend to escape from the Taliban advance. The group asked for and was given ‘refuge and safe passage’ by Pakistan, meaning that they will be assisted in safely returning to their country. The incident comes barely three weeks after 35 Afghan soldiers sought refuge and safe passage after being overrun by the Taliban.
The situation across the border has deteriorated to the point that Pakistan Army troops have replaced FC, Levies, and other paramilitary and militia forces at almost all border posts. And it is not just along the Pakistan border. In fact, the situation is arguably better along our border, considering that over 1,000 Afghan troops fled north into Tajikistan earlier this month in a single incident. While the Taliban may be exaggerating their gains, it is clear that several districts have indeed fallen to the militant group, and dozens more are teetering since the Americans and Nato began pulling out.
The recent losses suffered by Afghan forces come despite continuing air support from the US. General Kenneth McKenzie, the head of the US Army Central Command, tried his best to express confidence in Afghan forces, insisting that the Taliban were nowhere close to victory. But even then, his statement that a “Taliban victory is not inevitable” implies that he feels it is still very likely. After all, to quote American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” However, the Taliban retaking Afghanistan now seems almost as certain. Indeed, even McKenzie’s boss, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley, said the Taliban appear to have “strategic momentum”.
Meanwhile, peace talks between the Kabul government and the Taliban remain stalled, with the only positive being some spoken agreements on protecting civilians and infrastructure. That is still important, given the increasing accusations by foreign observers and rights groups that the Taliban are ordering “expulsions, arbitrary detentions, and killings [of civilians] in areas under their control”. While the militant group denies these charges, we must note that they have often been vague in their definition of combatants.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2021.
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