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To reach a peace deal, Taliban say Ghani must go

Published

4 years ago

July 23, 2021

The Taliban say they don’t want to monopolize power, but insist there will only be peace in Afghanistan once President Ashraf Ghani has been removed from power and a new government is in place.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, who is also a member of the group’s negotiating team, laid out the insurgents’ stance on what should come next in the country.

The Taliban have swiftly captured territory in recent weeks, seized strategic border crossings and are threatening a number of provincial capitals, as the last U.S. and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan.

This week, the top U.S. military officer, General Mark Milley, told a Pentagon press conference that the Taliban have “strategic momentum,” and he did not rule out a complete Taliban takeover. But he said it is not inevitable. “I don’t think the end game is yet written,” he said.

Shaheen told AP that the Taliban will lay down their weapons when a negotiated government acceptable to all sides in the conflict is installed in Kabul and Ghani’s government is gone.

“I want to make it clear that we do not believe in the monopoly of power because any governments who (sought) to monopolize power in Afghanistan in the past, were not successful governments,” said Shaheen, apparently including the Taliban’s own five-year rule in that assessment.

“So we do not want to repeat that same formula,” he said.

But he was also uncompromising on the continued rule of Ghani, calling him a war monger and accusing him of using his Tuesday speech on the Islamic Holy day of Eid-al-Adha to promise an offensive against the Taliban, AP reported.

Shaheen dismissed Ghani’s right to govern, resurrecting allegations of widespread fraud that surrounded Ghani’s 2019 election win. After that vote, both Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah declared themselves president. After a compromise deal, Abdullah is now No. 2 in the government and heads the reconciliation council, AP reported.

Shaheen meanwhile called last week’s talks in Doha a good beginning. But he said the government’s repeated demands for a ceasefire while Ghani stayed in power were tantamount to demanding a Taliban surrender.

“They don’t want reconciliation, but they want surrendering,” he said.

Before any ceasefire, there must be an agreement on a new government “acceptable to us and to other Afghans,” he said. Then “there will be no war.”

Shaheen said under this new government, women will be allowed to work, go to school, and participate in politics, but will have to wear the hijab, or headscarf. He said women won’t be required to have a male relative with them to leave their home, and that Taliban commanders in newly occupied districts have orders that universities, schools and markets operate as before, including with the participation of women and girls, AP reported.

Shaheen said there are no plans to make a military push on Kabul and that the Taliban have so far “restrained” themselves from taking provincial capitals. But he warned they could, given the weapons and equipment they have acquired in newly captured districts, AP reported. He contended that the majority of the Taliban’s battlefield successes came through negotiations, not fighting.

“Those districts which have fallen to us and the military forces who have joined us … were through mediation of the people, through talks,” he said. “They (did not fall) through fighting … it would have been very hard for us to take 194 districts in just eight weeks.”

AP reported that the Taliban control about half of Afghanistan’s 419 district centers, and while they have yet to capture any of the 34 provincial capitals

On the issue of a possible civil war, Shaheen told AP: “You know, no one no one wants a civil war, including me.”

Shaheen also repeated Taliban promises aimed at reassuring Afghans who fear the group and said they had nothing to fear from the Taliban and denied threatening them.

But, he added, if some want to take asylum in the West because Afghanistan’s economy is so poor, “that is up to them.”

He also denied that the Taliban have threatened journalists and Afghanistan’s civil society, which has been targeted by dozens of killings over the past year, AP reported.

While Daesh has taken responsibility for some attacks, the Afghan government has blamed the Taliban for most of the killings while the Taliban in turn accuse the Afghan government of carrying out the killings to defame them.

Shaheen said journalists, including those working for Western media outlets, have nothing to fear from a government that includes the Taliban.

“We have not issued letters to journalists (threatening them), especially to those who are working for foreign media outlets. They can continue their work even in the future,” he said.

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Latest News

Deputy interior minister for counter-narcotics travels to Uzbekistan

Published

13 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Ariana News

Abdul Rahman Munir, the Deputy Minister for Counter-Narcotics at the Ministry of Interior, traveled to Uzbekistan this afternoon along with his accompanying delegation.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Interior, the purpose of the trip is to participate in a meeting of member countries of the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre for Combating Drugs (CARICC).

The statement added that the meeting will be held on December 5 of this year in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Latest News

Imran Khan accuses Army Chief of ‘igniting’ Pakistan–Afghanistan tensions

In his post, written in Urdu, Khan said: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control, which grieves me deeply.”

Published

18 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Ariana News

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan has accused Army Chief Asim Munir of deliberately “igniting tensions” with Afghanistan, calling his policies “disastrous” for Pakistan.

The 73-year-old former cricketer, who has been imprisoned since 2023, issued the remarks through his official account on the social media platform X. His statement was shared a day after his sister, Uzma Khan, met him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail following “special permission” granted by the government led by Shehbaz Sharif.

In his post, written in Urdu, Khan said: “Asim Munir’s policies are disastrous for Pakistan. Because of his policies, terrorism has spiralled out of control, which grieves me deeply.”

He further alleged that the army chief’s actions were motivated by a desire to please Western governments, saying Munir had “deliberately ignited tensions with Afghanistan so he could be seen internationally as a so-called ‘mujahid’.”

The founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf added that he had long opposed “drone attacks and military operations against our own people,” arguing such tactics would only worsen militancy. Khan claimed Munir first “threatened Afghans,” then oversaw the expulsion of refugees and the launching of drone strikes, the consequences of which he said were now visible in rising violence.

Khan also launched a personal attack on the army chief, calling him “mentally unstable” and accusing him of presiding over the “collapse of the Constitution and rule of law in Pakistan.”

He alleged that, on Munir’s orders, he and his wife had been imprisoned on fabricated charges and subjected to “the worst form of psychological torture.”

Khan said he had been held in solitary confinement for four weeks, with no human contact and without basic entitlements provided under the jail manual. He added that despite court directions, access to political colleagues, lawyers and family members had been blocked.

Referring to an incident involving another sister, Noreen Niazi, he said she was “dragged on the road” while trying to meet him.

Khan praised Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi for choosing “resistance over compromise” and urged him to “continue to play on the front foot.” He added that those threatening to impose governor’s rule in the province should “do it today rather than tomorrow and then watch what happens.”

An undeclared ban on meetings with Khan had fuelled speculation about his health. After visiting him, Uzma Khan said he was “perfectly fine” physically but was being subjected to “mental torture” in solitary confinement.

International Sports

ILT20: Livingstone powers Knight Riders to 39-run win over Warriorz

Livingstone’s blitz propelled the Knight Riders to 233/4, the second-highest total in tournament history. H

Published

19 hours ago

December 4, 2025

Ariana News

Liam Livingstone launched DP World ILT20 Season 4 in spectacular fashion, smashing an unbeaten 82 off 38 balls — including a record 33 runs in the final over — to fire the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders to a commanding 39-run victory over the Sharjah Warriorz at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Livingstone’s blitz propelled the Knight Riders to 233/4, the second-highest total in tournament history. His onslaught at the death featured five sixes in the final over off Dwayne Pretorius, with four coming consecutively.

The innings had been well-set earlier by Alex Hales (32 off 19) and Alishan Sharafu (34 off 23), who provided a fast start after Michael Pepper’s short cameo. Sherfane Rutherford (45 off 27) then combined with Livingstone in a 95-run stand that kept the momentum surging. Adil Rashid was the standout bowler for the Warriorz, claiming 2/31.

Chasing 234, the Warriorz faltered early, losing Johnson Charles, Tom Abell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore in the first seven overs to slump to 56/3.

Tim David mounted a fierce counterattack, blasting 60 off 24 and hammering three straight sixes off Piyush Chawla to revive hopes. But with wickets falling around him — including Sikandar Raza (8) and Dinesh Karthik (5) — the pressure mounted. Ajay Kumar ended David’s charge in the 13th over, finishing with impressive figures of 1/22.

With nearly 20 an over required in the final stretch, the chase fizzled despite late hitting from Pretorius (39 off 20) and Adil Rashid (25 off 11). Their cameos pushed the Warriorz to 194/9, still well short of the target.

Earlier Highlights

Pepper opened brightly with three boundaries, but Pretorius removed him early. Hales and Sharafu kept the scoreboard moving before Rashid’s twin strikes broke the stand. Livingstone and Rutherford then dominated the middle overs, taking 19 off both Raza and Pretorius to set up the explosive finish.

Andre Russell chipped in with an unbeaten 11 from just four balls, partnering Livingstone in a 50-run stand off only 13 deliveries.

Reactions

Player of the Match, Liam Livingstone:
“The boys up top set a great platform. It took me a while to adjust, but once I found my rhythm at the end, it came out nicely.”

Sharjah Warriorz captain, Tim Southee:
“Against a lineup like that, you have to take wickets. We couldn’t do that in the middle or at the death. Credit to the Knight Riders — they were outstanding.”

Brief Scores

Abu Dhabi Knight Riders 233/4 (20 overs):
Livingstone 82*; Rutherford 45; Sharafu 34; Rashid 2/31; Netravalkar 1/33

Sharjah Warriorz 194/9 (20 overs):
David 60; Pretorius 39; Rashid 25; Garton 2/24; Stone 2/37; Russell 2/48

Result: Knight Riders won by 39 runs
Player of the Match: Liam Livingstone

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