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Dostum says Taliban ‘trapped’ in north and have nowhere to go
Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum said Wednesday that the Taliban are now trapped in the north and will not be able to flee that part of the country and that security forces will “crackdown” on the militants.
Speaking to journalists in Balkh province, Dostum said: “The Taliban have been trapped in the north several times and this time it is not easy to get out from the north.”
Dostum, who is reportedly in Balkh to lead the war against the Taliban in the northern provinces of Afghanistan, noted that Taliban militants could face the fate of Mullah Fazel, who spent years in Guantanamo prison.
Mullah Fazel was the Taliban’s designated chief of army staff during their regime but surrendered to Dostum after the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001.
He was later handed over to the US forces and then transferred to Guantanamo. Today he is one of the negotiating team members for the Taliban in Doha.
Fazel was released, along with four other senior members of the Taliban – including Mullah Norullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Khairullah Khairkhwa, and Mohammed Nabi Omari – in exchange for the release of an American soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held captive by the Haqqani Network from 2009 to 2014.
Meanwhile, President Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday led a government delegation to Mazar-e-Sharif on Wednesday morning to assess the security situation in the northern provinces.
Ghani’s visit to the capital of Balkh province comes amid escalating violence across the country, particularly in the north.
According to the Presidential Palace, Ghani’s senior security and political affairs adviser Mohammad Mohaqiq and former mujahideen commander Juma Khan Hamdard accompanied the president.
In Mazar, Ghani, Mohaqiq, and Hamdard met with political and jihadi leaders, including Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum and Atta Mohammad Noor.
During the meeting, comprehensive discussions were held on the general situation in the northern provinces, and the coordination, equipping, and mobilization of civilian uprising forces under the umbrella of the security forces.
Former Balkh Governor Atta Mohammad Noor stated: “operation plans, partisan and Guerrilla war [against Taliban], strengthening ranks [frontlines], and assessing weak points were discussed.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announced on Tuesday the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle from prison.
According to the ministry, Coyle’s mother had written to the leader of the Islamic Emirate demanding amnesty and the release of her son on the occasion of Eid. The Supreme Court considered time served sufficient and decided to release him.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this action was carried out on the basis of humanitarianism and good faith, and it believes that such measures can strengthen trust between countries. The ministry also expressed hope that both countries, in the future, can find solutions to remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates in this matter.
Separately, for Coyle’s release, an American delegation, including Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate.
The meeting was also attended by Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, Ambassador of the UAE in Kabul, and a member of the prisoner’s family.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate has not detained any citizen of any country to achieve political objectives; rather, detentions were the result of legal violations, and individuals were released after completing judicial procedures.
At the meeting, Khalilzad praised the action of the Islamic Emirate and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on all issues between the two countries, expressing hope for further progress in the future.
Muttaqi also stressed that Kabul and the UAE should provide standard consular services to their citizens, and that the Afghan government is fully prepared in this regard.
He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for their constructive role in facilitating the release of the prisoner and referred to the UAE as a close friend of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Muttaqi had also praised the role of the State of Qatar in facilitating information exchange between the Islamic Emirate and the prisoner’s family.
Additionally, the UAE ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to play a role in humanitarian institutions and called such developments beneficial for everyone.
The United Kingdom has announced an additional £3 million (AFN 257 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, aimed at supporting people affected by natural disasters and other shocks.
Richard Lindsay, in a post on X, said the funding will be used to provide essential nutrition supplies and related support to vulnerable populations.
The new allocation brings the UK’s total bilateral assistance to Afghanistan for the current financial year to £154 million (AFN 13.18 billion).
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