Govt says Taliban’s onslaught is a ‘wave of violence that won’t last’

A presidential advisor on Tuesday likened the increase in attacks by the Taliban to a “wave of violence” which he said will pass soon.

Addressing a press conference, Waheed Omar, the Director-General for Afghan Government’s Office of Public and Strategic Affairs, said the Taliban has launched a psychological war against government and the people which, he said, will be cracked down on by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF).

The Taliban has in recent weeks intensified attacks on military facilities and district centers.

“The Taliban’s movement is a wave that aims to undermine people’s morale, and the wave will not last; Taliban presence in any district will not last. We will retake the territory and the people must also stand by the ANDSF,” said Omar.

According to him, the Taliban are not committed to forging peace in the country.

“The Taliban have closed schools and set buildings on fire wherever they attacked and there is no such thing as governance in the Taliban [beliefs] and people have seen the Taliban’s real face, that they have become wilder and crueler in the past month and the Taliban have no definition of an Islamic state,” Omar said.

The Afghan government, meanwhile, stated that they have created a new spokesman’s position for the ANDSF as a whole. General Ajmal Omar Shinwari has been appointed to the position.

“The new team will soon manage the military situation. The enemy’s plan will be neutralized and every point of the country will be defended,” said Shinwari.

Officials, on the other hand, emphasized the need for the public to support the ANDSF in order for them to push back the Taliban and neutralize the group’s plans.