Ex-Afghan army Lt Gen Sami Sadat announces armed campaign against Taliban after talks fail
General Sadat stated that nearly five years of appeals by the Afghan people and civil society had been ignored by the international community. PHOTO: APP
Former Afghan National Army lieutenant general Sami Sadat has announced the launch of coordinated armed operations against the Taliban regime under the banner of the Afghanistan United Front (AUF).
Reappearing in military uniform beneath the tricolour flag of the former Afghan Republic nearly five years after its fall, General Sadat addressed supporters on behalf of the AUF, stating that military operations were officially authorised to begin a phased nationwide campaign aimed at restoring constitutional order in Afghanistan, according to media reports.
According to Sadat, the initial phase of the military campaign would target Taliban fighters, military installations and senior leadership, before expanding into subsequent operational phases across the country.
He noted that military operations would be integrated with political, diplomatic and public mobilisation efforts for the liberation of Afghanistan.
General Sadat stated that nearly five years of appeals by the Afghan people and civil society had been ignored by the international community.
Read More: Security forces kill 10 terrorists in IBOs under Operation 11 Gurj across K-P
He asserted that negotiations with the Taliban had failed, leaving armed resistance as the only remaining path to restore a free and constitutional Afghanistan.
He said that the Taliban regime has been subjecting Afghans to repression, fear and systematic human rights abuses, while transforming the country into a sanctuary for Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist organisations.
Besides, he said that Afghanistan’s natural resources were being exploited to finance and strengthen these terrorist networks.
Sadat called on former Afghan National Security and Defence Forces personnel, political leaders and Afghans both inside and outside the country to unite under the republic’s tricolour flag and join the AUF in a national struggle for Afghanistan’s future.
Read More: Taliban using Indian funds for cross-border terrorism against Pakistan: ex-Afghan army chief
He clarified that the AUF did not seek the deployment of foreign troops or foreign military bases, but was requesting political and material support from the international community.
He pledged that Afghan forces would themselves fight the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Islamic State, TTP, and other terrorist organisations while strictly adhering to international humanitarian law and protecting civilians.
Sadat said that the Afghanistan United Front considered itself the legitimate continuation of the former Afghan National Army.
He emphasised that the front’s ultimate goal was to restore an independent, constitutional Afghanistan in accordance with the 2004 Constitution, international humanitarian law and the will of the Afghan people expressed through a Loya Jirga.