By Afshain Afzal

In 1998 US forces carried out numerous missiles attacks on Kandhar, Afghanistan without any mandate or permission from United Nations Organization to kill Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Umar. In 1999, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1267, creating the Al-Qaeda and Taliban Sanctions Committee, which links the two groups as terrorist entities and imposed sanctions on their funding, travel, and arms shipments. On 9 September 2001, 11 American nationals of Egyptian and Saudi Arabian origins hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing them into the World Trade Center in New York and the armed forces headquaters at Pentagon while a fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. None of the was Afghan national. On 7 October 2001, The U.S. military, with the support of British, Canada, Australia, Germany, and France begins a bombing campaign against Taliban forces, code named, “Operation Enduring Freedom”. US President George W. Bush went into hiding for over a week and on 18 September 2001 announced authorizing the use of force against those responsible for attacking the United States on 9/11 attacks. As a result of US and allies extensive bombing, target killings and mass destruction over 1.6 million Afghan civilian men, women and children have been killed in an attempt to eliminate whole of the orthodox Muslim population generally known as Taliban in Afghanistan.

Washington led intelligence operations through United Front to topple the Taliban’s government, followed by elimination of all leadership and their families. Beside direct aerial and ground attacks on Afghanistan, the US operations were conducted through Dushanbe, Tajikistan. In 2004, Washington created a new Afghanistan intelligence agency, the National Security Directorate (NDS) and made Amrullah Saleh as its head and Director General. On 6 June 2010, Amrullah Saleh resigned from the NDS after a militant attack against the National Peace Jirga as President Hamid Kaarzai was suspicious of Amrullah Saleh’s hand behind attack on National Peace Jirga. In September 2014, President Ashraf Ghani came to power and in December he appointed Amrullah Saleh as the Interior Minister. On 19 January 2019, Amrullah Saleh resigned as Interior Minister to start campaigning for elections which were due in September. With Ashraf Ghani’s re-election, Amrullah Saleh was appointed as First Vice President of Afghanistan. Following reports of President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country on 15 August 2021, Saleh declared himself the caretaker president of Afghanistan, in accordance with the Afghan constitution. In an audio message, Amrullah Saleh made declaration, “As per the constitution of Afghanistan, if the President is absent or he resigns and he becomes incapable of running his duties, the First Vice President automatically becomes the legitimate caretaker President." He extended invitation to all Afghan leaders to unify and fight the Taliban.

Americans, the Iranians and Indians have started backing Amrullah Saleh but Indian agencies are suspicious about Amrullah Saleh. Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) claimed during a briefing to higher authorities in July last year that Amrullah Saleh is directly interfering in India’s internal affairs in Ladakh, especially Kargil. New Delhi has leveled baseless and serious allegation of anti-state activities by Iranian cum Afghan funded Imam Khomeini Memorial Trust (IKMT) in Kargil through Pakistan’s Gilgit, especially Hunza. Without any evidence Maulana Abbas Ansari and late Sheikh Mohammad Hussain Zakiri were seen with suspicion. Interestingly, at the same time, New Delhi is using its air force base at Tajikistan and spots in Uzbekistan to reinforce Amrullah Saleh’s forces. Reports from Kabul, Andarab valley and Nooristan speaks of heavy concentration of forces and attempts to assemble Anti-Taliban commanders at Kabul and Panjshir valley.

Washington, Britain, European Union and other nations took a united stance, after Boris Johnson’s lead, “No country should bilaterally recognise Taliban as Afghanistan's government”. They have reportedly approved Ahmed Shah Masood’s son Amrullah Saleh to rule Afghanistan. These nations as well as Afghan ethnic minority have ruled out acceptance of any future government in which Taliban will participate. To achieve this objective, Foreign sponsored systematic genocide of orthodox Afghan Muslims, after dubbing them as Taliban, specific religious groups are is in full swing. Despite the Pashtun-Taliban demographic vast majority and their services in compelling, foreign occupation forces to withdraw, western supported dummy Taliban are everywhere spreading message of fear and terror to create hatred against Muslims, especially the school of though Taliban are professing. Meanwhile, Amrullah Saleh alongwith like-minded groups including Hizb-e-Wahadat received huge funding and military hardware, equipment and assistance of foreign commandos to stage show of strength in North and later at Kabul. As per the reports, President Ashraf Ghani has not fled the country and is still at Afghanistan while fake videos in support have no on ground reality. One report said, he was under house arrest for not accepting Amrullah Saleh as President of Afghanistan.

It is encouraging that today intra-Afghan negotiations between Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, on 12 September 2020 became a success story. In other developments, on 15 September 2020, the mandate of UNAMA has been renewed until 17 September 2021. Despite the fake videos and self engineered terrorist attacks by terrorist groups posing as Taliban, generally the world community knows well by now that in Afghanistan it is a foreign funded and controlled religious and sectarian war going on against orthodox Muslims and Taliban are no where involved in terrorism or pose threat to world peace rather they are themselves the victim. The Resolution RES/2557 of 18 December 2020, renewed the mandate of the Monitoring Team supporting the 1988 Afghanistan Sanctions Committee for another year, until 17 December 2021. Paragraph 1 of resolution 2255 with respect to individuals and entities designated prior to the date of adoption of resolution 1988 (2011) as the Taliban, as well as other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with the Taliban in constituting a threat to the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan. Hence, it is high time that United Nations Organization must review the case of Taliban and remove names from list of individuals and groups which pose a threat to the peace, stability and security of Afghanistan or the world. It is vital for the peace that the United Nations Organization ensures withdrawal of all foreign troops as pledged by the United States and other foreign nations to allow Afghan to rule their country without foreign interference.