Pakistan served Taliban wholeheartedly, US neglected our warnings: Amarullah Saleh on Afghan govt’s downfall

The Afghanistan crisis is such that stakeholders even on opposite political vantage points — barring the Taliban perhaps — agree the situation in the West Asian country is bad. The US and NATO assume an air of fatigue and helplessness while neutral players watch the brutal military regime’s takeover of Afghanistan with bated breath. The local Afghan leadership — which was dethroned by the Taliban — however, is the most vocal about the tragedy and warns that gains made in 20 years will be undone fast.

Afghanistan’s acting president and anti-Taliban resistance leader Amrullah Saleh squarely put the blame on the US ‘political misjudgment’ and Pakistan’s abetment of the Taliban.

Operating from the impregnable and remote Panjshir Valley, Saleh vowed to keep up the fight of resistance against the Taliban.

Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, Saleh also squarely blamed Pakistan for helping the Taliban fool the international community by participating in Doha talks, while using that time to shore up military powers.

Saleh said that the Taliban were never really under international pressure because they always enjoyed Pakistan’s support and resources.

“They were not just having sanctuaries there but the whole of Pakistan was under the service of the Taliban. The US tried to incentivise the Pakistani corporation, to buy it, but the more they paid the more it emboldened the Pakistanis to support the Taliban tacitly. So, the issue of a nuclear state sponsoring terrorism and insurgency against western allies in Afghan state was never really addressed,” says Saleh.

Pakistan has had a long history of supporting the Taliban, which includes soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban’s virtual emissaries abroad, arranging training for Taliban fighters, planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and on several occasions apparently directly providing combat support.

Saleh did not mince words in blaming the neighbouring country for Taliban gains, and further alleged that the peace talks anchored by Qatar and facilitated by Pakistan were a farce to provide Taliban the time and space to orchestrate a return.

“Doha talks legitimised the Taliban and the Taliban did not remain loyal to their words. They did not honour their commitment and they fooled the entire international community. The purpose of the Doha office was to keep the international community divided, keep them hopeful for a peaceful process that did not exist. Meanwhile, they were investing in military conquest and the Pakistanis were backing them wholeheartedly.”

The Pakistan Army and ISI played key roles in facilitating the US-Taliban agreement, which the latter did not honour. It instead, used the breather to shore up military prowess with Pakistan’s support and eventually took over the country in one fell swoop as US forces retreated.

Saleh also spoke at length about the US’ role in the eventual fall of democracy in Afghanistan. He blamed a hasty and unstrategised exit for the Taliban’s win in Afghanistan.

“In the last 2 years the republic (of Afghanistan) came under enormous pressure from our American allies, they blackmailed us and said that either you release the prisoners or we will cut aid to you and decrease our military assistance. We said that are you sure that these people will not end up at the battle frontlines and their answer was no, but in the end they all did end up there at frontlines. So it was not a release of prisoners but gifting of highly radicalised fighters to the Taliban.”

The acting Afghan president also acknowledged the lackings within his own government and said that the Afghan leaders miscalculated the threat heavily and failed to take appropriate action in time.

“There were people in our government who were not aware of the situation and were taking everything for granted… But in the end, if a superpower decides to go this way or that way, there is so little or nothing we could do to change their attitude. I do accept that I have been a major player and a person of significance but did we have any say in the US decision? No!”

Saleh said that Washington wilfully ignored various warnings and pleas of the local leadership in their threat assessment and said that it was wrong to blame the downfall on military or intelligence failure.

“We could not influence their decision. I had been warning them of these kinds of consequences for two years. But they are paying the price now. This was a political decision, not a military or intelligence one.. one political misjudgment by the US has brought this situation to Afghanistan today. It wasn’t the Taliban who won this war, it was the lack of a political will in Washington that led to this.”

President Joe Biden has decided to stick with his deadline next week for completing the US-led evacuation from Afghanistan, despite domestic political complaints of caving to Taliban demands and of potentially leaving some Americans and Afghan allies behind. It remains unclear whether the airlift from Kabul’s international airport can get out all American citizens and other foreigners by next Tuesday, as well as former translators and other at-risk Afghans who fear for their lives under Taliban rule. But the Taliban too has been bargaining hard against the extension of the deadline, warning that it would not sit quietly if the US and NATO forces overstay. The US on the other hand given no signs that it won’t comply.

Saleh said that the US is now facing criticism and scorn internationally due to their lapse in ‘political judgment’.

“They are watching what they did. they are seeing how the world media is writing negatively about them. US is a global power, with the mightiest military power and we never wished them bad but this shows that how a single wrong political judgement can humiliate even a superpower. It wasn’t ever about American military or American intelligence ..it was the wrong judgement and they have started to pay the price.”

He, however, said that in the end, the US’ mistakes and Pakistan’s abrasive attitude had unleashed a tragedy on the Afghan people. He called the Taliban-led regime a “shameful” development vowing to fight against it till the end.

“The bottom line is that NATO is gone, US military is gone, but the Afghan people have not gone…they could not be evacuated. Kabul airport is the tip of an iceberg. The country has sunken to tragedy and terrorists groups have taken over Afghanistan. Today, for example, a money launderer who was facilitating transactions between Al-Qaeda sympathisers and Taliban has become governor of Afghan central bank, Haqqanis are running Kabul…needless to explain who Haqqanis are. This is a shame and betrayal and I don’t want to be a part of that shame and betrayal. We will fight till the enemy believes and come to a conclusion that Afghanistan should remain Afghanistan and not become Talibanistan.”

Saleh also sought to play down the security threat in the Panjshir Valley — the last standing bastion that withstood Taliban invaders — amid reports that the Taliban have sieged the Valley and reclaimed at least three districts.

When asked about the security situation there, Saleh said, “It’s perfect. we are in control of the situation..I move around with minimum security… It’s an area which has an exceptional reputation.”

Nestled in the towering Hindu Kush, the Panjshir Valley has a single narrow entrance and is the last region not under Taliban control following their stunning blitz across Afghanistan. Local fighters held off the Soviets in the 1980s and the Taliban a decade later under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Massoud, a guerrilla fighter who attained near-mythic status before he was killed in a suicide bombing”.

However, the latest reports have indicated that Taliban fighters are inching closer to Panjshir Valley and have retaken at least three major districts. They have surrounded the valley from all sides.

In a Twitter post, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that they have retaken Bannu, Pul-e-Hisar and Deh Saleh districts of Baghlan, which fell to the anti-Taliban militia earlier, and that the troops were stationed at the gates of Panjshir from the directions of Takhar, Badakhshan and Andarab.

“The Salang Pass is open and the enemy is under siege in Panjshir. The Islamic Emirate is trying to solve the problem through talks,” he tweeted. The Salang Pass connects the Baghlan province to the nation’s capital in Kabul.

Without control over the Salang pass, resistance leadership will struggle to get their hands on even basic supplies such as food and fuel.

With inputs from agencies