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KABUL: The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces have the utmost capability to defend their country and to further pressurize the Taliban fighters, interior minister said on Thursday.
Speaking in an event highlighting ‘challenges and opportunities for sustainable reform in the ministry of interior’ organized by Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS), Masoud Andarabi said if the Taliban believe in peace, they must stop killing of Afghans and put an end to the current war. A number of government officials, experts, university teachers, civil society and media people were present at the event.
In regards to reduction of violence where the Taliban had portably demanded during peace talks with US peace envoy in Qatar, Andarabi said the best way to stop the massacre of the innocent Afghans is to reach a single point which is the acceptance of a countrywide ceasefire, in which the Kabul administration has been insisting on for a sustainable peace.
He said that Afghan security forces have hardly squeezed the Taliban and had freed territory from their control. According to Andarabi, it is better for the Taliban to renounce violence as many of their fighers did recently.
Ministry of defense had said that the number of Taliban who surrendered to Afghan forces in Herat and Ghor provinces has increased to 410.
Mr. Andarabi furthered that during this year so far they have saved 4 billion Afghans and 21 million bullets despite being engaged more on the battlefield.
He also talked about efforts adopted by the ministry to fighting corruption with the ministry.
A day before a Taliban splinter commander has said that peace negotiators in Qatar are stooges of Pakistan – amid marathon Washington-Taliban talks to find a solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.
Mullah Abdulmanan Niazi said that the group has a 30,000-strong army of combatants across Afghanistan who is just waging war against those militants hailing from the ‘Taliban Emirate’.
Deputy Chief of Taliban splinter group – known with nom de guerre ‘Mullah Rasoul group’ which is active in western Afghanistan – said that Taliban negotiators in Qatar are being dictated by Pakistani establishment. “In fact, they are representing Pakistan, not the Taliban. Even the proposal of reduction in violence has been mooted by Pakistan,” he said.
