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Ismail Khan vows to fight against Taliban
Jihadi Leader Mohammad Ismail Khan has created a “public resistance movement” after the Taliban militants captured several districts including two key border towns in western Herat province.
Dozens of civilians and fighters aligned with the prominent anti-Taliban commander gathered at a ceremony in Herat and picked up arms with plans to fight.
Mohammad Ismail Khan said he would support efforts by Afghan forces to claw back control of parts of western Afghanistan, including a border crossing with Iran. Khan, a former minister and a survivor of a Taliban attack in 2009, was a leading member of the Northern Alliance whose militia helped U.S. forces topple the Taliban in 2001.
This comes after the Taliban captured six districts including the Islam Qala border and the Torghundi border towns, two trade gateways to Iran and Turkmenistan, of the province in the last 24 hours.
“We will soon go [for the Taliban to the frontlines] in the city and all western zone with the help of God change the situation,” Ismail Khan told his supporters.
Afghan security personnel increased checkpoints in and around the provincial capital of Herat on Friday. Ismail Khan has also stated that public uprising forces have been deployed at 15 positions to fight against the Taliban alongside the Afghan security and defense forces (ANSDF).
Meanwhile, the Taliban militants have also captured the key Abu Nasr Farahi port, bordering with Iran, in Farah province, Provincial Governor Masoud Bakhtawar confirmed Friday.
The Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment (HCCI) stated that transportations via the ports have been stopped.
“Both the Torghundi and the Islam Qala have been captured by the Taliban and all imports and exports that we had yesterday are now have been stopped,” said Hamidullah Khadim, Chairman of Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines.
Herat officials, however, stated that they were mobilizing forces and will launch a clearance operation as soon as possible.
“Reinforcement, mobilizing people [public uprising forces], and launch of military operations to the clear area from the Taliban have been started,” said Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for the provincial governor.
According to the reports, so far, at least 15 districts of western Herat province were fallen to the Taliban.
In the last week, the Taliban have overrun areas bordering five countries – Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, China, and Pakistan – as foreign forces end their two-decade intervention and the domestic security situation deteriorates.
The insurgents have been gaining territory for weeks but accelerated their thrust as the United States vacated its main Afghan base, effectively ending an intervention that began with the ousting of the Islamist Taliban government in 2001.
A high-level government–private sector delegation from Uzbekistan, led by Shukhrat Abdullazakov, Governor of Namangan province, arrived in Kabul to enhance trade between the two countries and promote investment in Afghanistan.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Industry, the delegation, which includes deputy governors and more than 30 of Uzbekistan’s top businesspeople and investors, will meet with officials of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and participate in conferences and trade meetings.
The delegation will also travel to Balkh, meet with local officials, and hold business meetings with members of the private sector.
Additionally, the delegation will inaugurate an exhibition of Uzbek products and goods in Mazar-i-Sharif.
This visit follows the trip of Erkinjon Turdimov, Governor of Uzbekistan’s Syrdarya Province, and his accompanying delegation, and is based on meetings between Nuruddin Azizi, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Islamic Emirate, and senior Uzbek officials.
Other governors from Uzbekistan are also expected to visit Afghanistan to further expand bilateral trade and economic relations.
The Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment announced on Saturday that national traders, jointly through the chamber, have provided approximately 15 million AFN in aid to the people of Iran.
The chamber stated that this aid package was delivered to the Iranian Consulate in Herat. It added that the assistance was intended to express solidarity with families affected by the war.
Mohammad Younes Qazizadeh, head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “Today we have presented 15 million AFN to the dear people of Iran through the Herat provincial authorities and the Iranian Consulate, and this aid will continue.”
Meanwhile, officials at the Iranian Consulate in Herat emphasized that Afghanistan and Iran always stand together and fully understand each other’s difficulties.
The Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment also highlighted that the people of Iran have consistently supported the people of Afghanistan during various crises, and their cooperation in different sectors has reached families affected in the country.
Officials of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Investment stressed that the process of private-sector humanitarian aid to the affected people of Iran will continue.
Following attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, many people in the country have been affected and harmed.
Local officials in Badghis have reported that heavy rainfall from midnight until Saturday morning claimed the lives of five people in the province.
According to officials, three people died in Qadis district, while two others, including a three-year-old child, lost their lives in Dara-e-Bum district.
The Badghis Department for Disaster Management stated that the floods not only caused fatalities but also inflicted significant financial losses on local residents and destroyed agricultural land.
However, complete information on the extent of damage and casualties is not yet available. Staff from various government departments have been dispatched to affected areas to conduct preliminary surveys.
Meanwhile, heavy rains and floods in western Afghanistan temporarily blocked the Herat–Kandahar Highway.
According to Mohammad Israil Sayar, head of the Disaster Management Department in Farah province, recent rainfall has caused the Farah River to swell significantly. He added that the situation has now returned to normal, and traffic along the highway has resumed.
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