Is Russia launching a new approach to fighting non-Pashtun anti-Taliban forces?
Author: Fayaz Bahraman Najimi, an analyst on regional and international issues, a member of the Sangar Advisory Board.
All-Afghan affiliation is a complete betrayal of Persian identity and culture!
First, let's look at the interesting reports coming from Kabul.
- There are rumors in Kabul that the US will return special commando units to Afghanistan in agreement with the Taliban.
- They also say that the Americans are present at the Kabul airport in the former Baran camp. Most of them are located in the DI building. DI is an American military intelligence agency in Afghanistan led by a man named Paul, whose full name has not been established.
- 25 Americans are still in the Oriyono Hotel, the former headquarters of the CIA.
- Several Americans live in secret mansions in Shashdarak, Wazir Akbarkhan, Shirpur, Kalai Fathullah, and Kartae Chahar, and are protected by the Taliban Security Directorate.
- The Black Waters office is located near Khudhel in Kabul and cooperates with Taliban intelligence.
Based on this, it is no coincidence that Khalilzad, in his last comments, advises the Taliban opposition to go to Kabul and negotiate with the Taliban.
Meanwhile, in Russia:
There are two opposing approaches to the Taliban and the forces opposing them In Russia, which I have repeatedly mentioned:
- One of them is the approach of the Foreign Ministry headed by Zamir Kabulov and a group of Soviet-era experts from the remnants of the Ministry of Defense who are interested in the Pashtuns and through them are connected with the Taliban,
- and another group of law enforcement agencies around Nikolai Patrushev, Russia's national security adviser, who is ready to cooperate with anti-Taliban forces.
The Russian Foreign Ministry is going to hold a new meeting of the Moscow Format, this time with the participation of representatives of the Taliban.
But the security agencies of Russia have provided and continue to provide hospitality to resistance forces of a different spectrum in the past and future days.
According to Russian news sources, one of the leaders of the Afghan Liberation Front (ALF) has been in Moscow for a week now. The representative of the Afghan Liberation Front held a number of meetings with influential people in the Russian Federation.
In the coming days, the leaders of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan led by Ahmad Massoud and Amrullah Saleh will leave for Moscow. They are expected to be joined by Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum of Turkey.
The purpose of the invitation by the Russian authorities to all three politicians is to consult with them.
I will not comment on this information yet and will wait to see if Russia wants to implement the well-known formula of Putin, who said: “If someone wants to fight you in the streets, it is better to strike first”, or wants to play the role of an intermediary.
The presence of the Americans with their financial support for the Taliban, the sending of Taliban forces to the border with Iran, the Qushteppa Canal project, and the movement of Waziristani and Pakistani Naqil-Taliban to the north cannot but be a cause for concern for Russia.
The presence of a representative of the Afghan Liberation Front and three politicians from two major ethnicities in the north raises many questions. But I think it is still premature to discuss and predict something.
