Taliban Celebratory Firing Kills 17, Government Formation again Delayed

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Sept 4: At least 17 persons were killed and nearly 50 wounded as the Taliban gunmen fired indiscriminately to “celebrate” the fall of the Panjshir valley, which was promptly refuted by the resistant forces, even as the militants struggled to form the new government in Afghanistan postponing a final shape till next week.

Fresh fighting was reported Saturday between the Taliban and resistance forces in Panjshir Valley, even as the hardline Islamists facing the challenge of morphing from insurgents to rulers, the Taliban appear determined to snuff out the Panjshir resistance before announcing who will lead the country in the aftermath of Monday’s US troop withdrawal, which was supposed to end two decades of war.

But Panjshir, which held out for nearly a decade against the Soviet Union’s occupation and also the Taliban’s first rule from 1996-2001, is stubbornly holding out.

Fighters from the National Resistance Front (NRF) — made up of anti-Taliban militia and former Afghan security forces — are understood to have stockpiled a significant armoury in the valley, around 80 kilometres north of Kabul and guarded by a narrow gorge.

The Taliban sources are claiming that they have seized control over Panjshir valley, the last standing province that the Taliban has not been able to capture. However, a Resistance leader denied that the province had fallen. The deposed Afghanistan Vice President Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of the opposition forces, told Tolo News television station that reports he had fled the country were lies.

And in a video clip posted, an international media quoted Saleh saying, “There is no doubt we are in a difficult situation. We are under invasion by the Taliban … We have held the ground, we have resisted.” He also tweeted: “The RESISTANCE is continuing and will continue. I am here with my soil, for my soil & defending its dignity.”

Celebratory gunfire rang out in the capital Kabul overnight as rumours spread the valley had fallen, but the Taliban made no official claim Saturday. The celebratory firing was condemned by the Taliban leaders also as the Taliban tweeted a stern admonishment warning its fighters to stop. “Avoid firing in the air and thank God instead,” said chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, tipped to become the new regime’s information minister. “The weapons and bullets given to you are public property. No one has the right to waste them. The bullets can also harm civilians, don’t shoot in vain,” he told the gunmen.

The Joe Biden administration in the US is learnt to be quietly pressing Pakistan to cooperate on combating dreaded terrorist groups such as the ISIS-K and Al Qaeda following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, according to a set of leaked documents and diplomatic cables to a prominent US media outlet. Some media reported a slew of diplomatic messages exchanged between Washington and Islamabad recently after the Taliban insurgents seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The messages show that “the Biden administration is quietly pressing Pakistan to cooperate on fighting terrorist groups such as ISIS-Khorasan and Al Qaeda in the wake of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.”

Away from the valley, the Taliban continued to struggle to form a government that satisfy the expectations of the international community which slowly is coming to terms with having to deal with the new Taliban regime with a flurry of diplomacy. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due on Sunday in Qatar, a key player in the Afghan saga and the location of the Taliban’s political office, though he is not expected to meet with them.

The Taliban has already postponed a final announcement of the government formations more than three times. It delayed a final decision last month after taking control of Kabul, was expected to announced it on Friday which was postponed till Saturday when a senior leader announced that a final shape could still take a few more day.

Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid on Saturday said the announcement about the new government and Cabinet members will now be made next week. without providing the reason behind the postponement.

The reports suggest that the insurgents have been struggling to shape an inclusive administration acceptable to the international community. “The Taliban can form a government of their own but they are now focussing to have an administration in which all parties, groups and sections of the society have proper representation,” the reports said quoting Khalil Haqqani, a member of the committee tasked to negotiate talks with different groups over the government formation.

Khalil Haqqani, who is in charge of the security of Kabul, revealed that former Afghanistan’s prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and brother of ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai, will be given representation in the government. Hashmat Ghani had recently indicated that he’ll support a Taliban-led government.

On Friday, Blinken reiterated the expectations from a Taliban-led government, including the formation of an inclusive government, rejecting reprisals and upholding the basic rights of Afghans. The top US diplomat was responding to the reports of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar getting the charge of the new government.

“There is an expectation that any government that emerges now will have some real inclusivity and that it will have non-Talibs in it who are representative of different communities and different interests in Afghanistan,” said Blinken who is in Doha from where he will travel to Germany, to lead a virtual 20-nation ministerial meeting on Afghanistan alongside German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

Pakistan’s intelligence chief Faiz Hameed was in Kabul, meanwhile. Hameed was reportedly in the city to be briefed by his country’s ambassador but is also likely to meet top Taliban officials with whom Islamabad has historically had very close relations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is also set to convene a high-level meeting on Afghanistan in Geneva on September 13, to focus on humanitarian assistance for the country. The United Nations has already restarted humanitarian flights to parts of Afghanistan, while the country’s flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines resumed domestic flights on Friday and the United Arab Emirates sent a plane carrying “urgent medical and food aid.”

Western Union and Moneygram, meanwhile, said they were restarting cash transfers, which many Afghans rely on from relatives abroad to survive. China has already confirmed it will keep its embassy in Kabul open.

Afghanistan’s new rulers have pledged to be more accommodating than during their first stint in power, which also came after years of conflict — first the Soviet invasion of 1979, and then a bloody civil war. That regime was notorious for its brutal interpretation of Islamic law, and its treatment of women, who were forced inside and denied access to school and work.

This time around, the Taliban have made repeated declarations that they will not carry out revenge attacks on opponents, and women will have access to education and some employment. They have promised a more “inclusive” government that represents Afghanistan’s complex ethnic makeup — though women are unlikely to be included at the top levels.

In Kabul, dozens of women protested for a second day Saturday to demand the right to work and inclusion in the government. Social media clips showed Taliban terrorists and officials attempting to disperse the protesters and stopping people from filming with mobile phones.

Bringing down what little is left of the Afghani culture, the Taliban have started painting the streets with murals, propaganda that support their cause and claims. An old street art of the historic Doha deal was removed to make way for a message saying don’t trust the enemy’s propaganda, quoting Mullah Haibatullah.

Qatar’s ambassador to Afghanistan said a technical team was able to reopen Kabul airport to receive aid and restart the domestic flights. The airport’s runway has been repaired in cooperation with authorities in Afghanistan, the ambassador said. Sources said two domestic flights were operated from Kabul to the cities of Mazar-i-Sharif and Kandahar.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will convene a ministerial meeting in Geneva on September 13 to seek a swift scale-up in funding to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where nearly half the country’s 38 million people need assistance.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric made the announcement Friday and said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will also appeal “for full and unimpeded humanitarian access to make sure Afghans continue to get the essential services they need.”

Mr. Dujarric said the U.N. appeal for $1.3 billion for 2021 to help more than 18 million people is just 40% funded, leaving a $766 million deficit.

California’s Governor and legislative leaders on Friday requested $16.7 million in state money to help resettle Afghan refugees in the state.

The request to use general fund money to help those fleeing the Taliban takeover signals “that California stands ready to assist those in need,” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement.

“As the nation’s most diverse state, we don’t simply tolerate diversity, we celebrate it.” The funding request by Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon was expected to be considered during next week’s legislative session.

In the limited engagement that India has had with the Taliban, the new Afghan rulers have indicated that they would be reasonable in addressing New Delhi’s concerns, said Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla.

Observing that the situation in Afghanistan is very fluid and moving fast, Shringla said both India and the US were keeping a close watch on it. “Look on 15th of August, you had a situation where (Afghan) President (Ashraf) Ghani suddenly left. You had the Taliban come in. The situation is moving so fast it’s so fluid that is difficult to comment at this point of time on anything,” he said. Shringla said the US is watching the situation in Afghanistan very closely. “They will obviously see how different players get engaged in the situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan is a neighbour of Afghanistan. They have supported and nurtured the Taliban. There are various elements there that Pakistan supported,” he said.

The United States and the international community expects the Taliban to form an inclusive government with representations from different communities and interests, Blinken said on Friday.

“As we’ve said and as countries around the world have said, there is an expectation that any government that emerges now will have some real inclusivity, and that it will have non-Talibs in it who are representative of different communities and different interests in Afghanistan,” Blinken told reporters.

At least 50,000 Afghans are expected to be admitted into the United States following the fall of Kabul as part of an “enduring commitment” to help people who aided the American war effort and others who are particularly vulnerable under Taliban rule, the Secretary of Homeland Security said on Friday.

Tens of thousands of Afghans have already made it through security vetting and arrived in the U.S. to begin the process of resettlement. Exactly how many more will come and how long it will take remain open questions, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said as he outlined the effort.