Negligence of Presidency, Executive Office led to fall of Kunduz

The findings of Kunduz fact-finding commission reveal that circulation of information among senior government officials and delay in action led Taliban to rule Kunduz.

A member of the fact-finding commission of Kunduz in an interview with Ariananews says that the presidency and executive office neglect caused the collapse of Kunduz province.

Muhammad Ayoub Rafiqi, member of Kunduz fact-finding commission declares that the foundation stones of local offices in Kunduz were laid based on power division and political intervention of government leaders not on meritocracy.

“Most of the security officials in local institutions are appointed by nepotism that is one of the main reason of Kunduz fall,” said Muhammad Ayoub Rafiqi, member of Kunduz fact-finding commission.

Rafiqi noted that during the clashes, the armed Taliban seized about 40 armored vehicles, thousands of weapons and documents of National Directorate Security (NDS).

The fact-finding commission of Kunduz promised to completely share its 189th page findings with people and media outlets on Saturday, 21 November.

Hundreds of lightly armed Taliban riding on motorbikes seized Kunduz city, capital of Kunduz Province, Afghanistan’s fifth-largest city and home to about 300,000 people on September 28. Their capture marked the fall of the first major Afghan city to the insurgents in 14 years.

The fall of Kunduz shows that without the participation of coalition forces in combat operations, the ANSF are spread too thin throughout the country to adequately address all of the pressing security vulnerabilities.

The city of Kunduz is not only of symbolic but also of strategic importance. It serves as a gateway to northern Afghanistan as it sits on the primary east-west road connecting the north of the country as well as the main north-south road connecting Kabul with neighboring Tajikistan in Central Asia.

It is not inevitable that Afghanistan will collapse totally into the hands of the Taliban. One certainty, however, is that civilians will be the first victims of further instability and violence.