According to the military head of the Resistance Front, the leaders of the Taliban, an organization banned in Russia, do not take Moscow's requests seriously
Author: Andrey Serenko, head of the Analytical Center for Political Scientists of Russia, a correspondent for Nezavisimaya Gazeta
General Amiri, often referred to as "Target №1" for the Kabul regime, is in Panjshir. Photos courtesy of Khalid Amiri
The Taliban, the Islamic State (both banned in the Russian Federation) and other terrorist organizations in Afghanistan will pose a real threat to the countries of the region in the near future. General Khalid AMIRI, Commander of the Armed Forces of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), stated this in an exclusive interview with NG columnist Andrei SERENKO. Until August 2021, General Amiri commanded units of the Afghan special forces (commandos) and fought with the Taliban and Islamic State militants in various provinces of Afghanistan. Today, 36-year-old Khalid Amiri is in Panjshir, where he leads the NRFA's combat operations against the Taliban. This conversation with NG is General Amiri's first interview with foreign journalists.
– Mr. General, the Taliban regime has been dominating Afghanistan for more than a year and a half. How do you assess the results of these months of Taliban rule? What have the Taliban achieved?
- The Taliban have achieved nothing in a year and a half of dominance in Afghanistan. In economic terms, out of 35 million people in Afghanistan, according to statistics from international humanitarian organizations, 28 million are below the poverty line and in need of urgent assistance. Security threats are rising and Afghanistan has become a safe place only for international terrorists. Politically, while the people of Afghanistan are ruled by a particular ethnic group and other ethnic groups are stripped of all political structures, there is also conflict within the Taliban between the Kandahar Taliban and the Haqqani Taliban. And every day the cracks in these contradictions become deeper.
Regionally and internationally, no country has yet recognized the Taliban, and some Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey have even closed their embassies in Kabul and expelled their diplomats from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is gradually isolating itself. The level of distrust among the Taliban is rising.
Thus, based on the above reasons, we come to the conclusion that the Taliban terrorist group has demonstrated its lack of capabilities and competencies to legitimize itself at the domestic and international levels.
- What do you think the goals of the Taliban are?
- The Taliban are an unruly proxy, ethnic, and violent extremist group that, under the guise of religion, practically engages in ethnicism and the elimination of others in order to secure extraneous interests. Among these goals are the implementation of a selfish ethnic policy, the implementation of a specific religious policy, the support of foreign terrorist groups, the attraction of investments from the region and the accumulation of wealth, the suppression of local uprisings and social discontent, the elimination of the islands of local autonomy.
- Why did the people of Afghanistan reconcile with the Taliban regime?
- I do not agree with such a formulation of the issue, the Afghans have never reconciled with the Taliban. Discontent is visible at the local and national levels. The people of Afghanistan are currently being held hostage by the Taliban.
- Apart from Panjshir and Andarab, there are no signs of resistance to the Taliban to date. There are groups of fighters from the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan. What is the NRFA today?
- The National Resistance Front is expanding every day in various groups of society and geographically. In 2023, you will witness armed resistance to the Taliban in different provinces of Afghanistan.
– Who supports you?
- Ordinary people support the national resistance, but so far no country supports it, because the interaction (of these countries) with the Taliban is the reason for not supporting the resistance. But this situation will soon change.
- How do you assess the prospects of the Resistance Front? What goals does he set for himself?
- The Front wants to create a decentralized political system in Afghanistan. He is not fighting alone but in cooperation with other tribes and social groups alternative to the Taliban. The goals of the front are the liberation of Afghanistan from the evil of the Taliban and other international terrorists, the creation of an inclusive decentralized government based on the will of the people, a state in which all ethnic groups live like relatives, under one roof, have equal rights and the opportunity to live in harmony with each other and with the world.
– Today there is a lot of talk about the danger of the revival of the “Islamic State” (IS, banned in the Russian Federation) in Afghanistan. How seriously do you think this threat is? What is IS in Afghanistan and how does the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan feel about IS?
- The Taliban are no different from IS and other terrorists in terms of ideology and type of extremist behavior. Today, ISIS in Afghanistan is expanding and becoming stronger under Taliban rule than ever before.
IS has experienced many ups and downs in Afghanistan over the past seven years and is now on the rise. IS has active and potential powers to gain strength. One factor that makes IS strong is the Taliban's tension with Pakistan. This foreign terrorist group is concerned that they think the Taliban might cut a deal with the Pakistanis. That is why they are interested in joining new supporters in IS, and the growing poverty in Afghan society makes IS stronger.
The National Resistance Front does not distinguish between ISIS, the Taliban, and other terrorist groups, since they all pose a serious threat not only to Afghanistan but also to the region and the world in the near future.
- What role did Pakistan play in strengthening the Taliban regime? How strong is the influence of the Pakistani establishment, and the secret services of Islamabad today on the power of the Taliban in Afghanistan?
- Pakistan's role in supporting the Taliban is very visible and has many hallmarks. Many high-ranking members of the Taliban, especially the Haqqani network (banned in Russia) and Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Mottaki, governors, and Taliban security officials are associated with the Pakistani intelligence agency. The latest information shows that Pakistan supported the Taliban leader and senior members of the Taliban, who ignored options for interaction with the global community.
Pakistani intelligence, as the creator of the Taliban, now has Pakistani advisers in most of Afghanistan's sectoral and economic ministries, and Pakistan's foreign minister serves as the Taliban's de facto foreign minister in international forums.
– How do you assess Russia's policy towards Afghanistan? What are Moscow's political positions in Kabul today?
- Moscow and, in particular, the Russian special representative for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, are trying to prevent the Taliban from falling into the hands of the West, especially the United States. Moscow is asking the Taliban to confront ISIS and other terrorist groups in Central Asia, but intelligence sources say the Taliban are not taking Moscow's demands seriously because the Taliban need money that Moscow cannot provide. The Taliban is sanctioned by the West, but Moscow cannot do anything for the Taliban. The Taliban have said that Moscow is in danger of international isolation as a result of the conflict in Ukraine, so the Taliban do not want to do business with an isolated country.
- Today there is a lot of talk about the possibility of the US returning to Afghanistan. Do you think an alliance between Washington and the Taliban regime is possible?
– More than two years have already passed since the alliance between the Taliban and the United States, which began with the signing of the hidden documents of the Doha Agreement (at the end of February 2020). According to Zalmay Khalilzad and Tom West (former and current US Special Representative for Afghanistan. - "NG"), America has always talked about interaction with the Taliban. However, it seems that the issue of recognizing the Taliban is not on the agenda of Washington until the end of its presidential term of Joseph Biden. If the Taliban allow women and girls to work and study, forms an inclusive government, defines their position on foreign terrorist groups, and respects human rights, then the prospect of a stronger alliance between the Taliban and the United States is very serious. And by the way, the US has no other alternative. Otherwise, it will be difficult for America to cope with the conditions that this group puts forward.
- China is demonstrating its willingness to cooperate with the Taliban government. Several economic agreements have been signed between Beijing and the Taliban. To what extent do you think these agreements are enforceable? How do you assess the prospects for China's activities in Afghanistan?
- China and the Taliban are not natural partners. China does not have the capacity to meet the needs of the Taliban. The Taliban are using China in two ways. Firstly, the Taliban show their closeness to China and use this card against the West - to put pressure on the West. Second, they have signed economic project agreements with China to boost their domestic revenues. China is trying to follow in the footsteps of the US in Afghanistan, but the Taliban, under pressure from the West, did not behave as China expected. The Taliban did not respond to China's request to contain the East Turkistani Uyghur group. The Taliban also did not respond to China's demand to extradite some leaders of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM, banned in Russia).
Due to the lack of economic self-sufficiency, the Taliban are interested in relations with a large number of countries that help or could help them in the economic sector. Understanding this, China has made some agreements with the Taliban, not having practical projects, but to "cut off the hand of others", depriving them of this privilege. None of the projects concluded with China can be implemented in practice due to security problems in Afghanistan.
- What is your forecast for the future of the Taliban regime? How long will their rule in Afghanistan last?
- The Taliban have driven Afghanistan into rigid isolation. The Taliban rule the Afghan people with extreme religious and ethnic methods, and the Afghan people themselves are now in the worst economic, political, and security conditions. No country is willing to recognize the Taliban. With each passing day, the level of insecurity and the presence of international terrorists such as Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan is increasing, and the countries of the region are under serious threat. I see very little prospect of long-term Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
- What news can we expect from Afghanistan in a few weeks, next spring? Is the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan ready for a long armed struggle against the Taliban? Is reconciliation possible between the NRFA forces and the Taliban, and if so, on what terms?
- We should expect news about the intensification of the guerrilla war in Afghanistan and the attacks of resistance fighters on major cities. The national resistance front will be part of a future war against the Taliban, not the entire war.
It does not seem that the Taliban are in favor of a political approach to the Afghan settlement and peace talks in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan will be more isolated and unstable due to the Taliban's internal feuds, which have so far been hidden. Now the internal conflicts between the Taliban will become public.
The countries of the region will be even more disappointed with the interaction and cooperation with the Taliban.
It is possible that representatives of the former Afghan National Army and security forces will return to Kabul to fulfill their duties on the draft of some Taliban, but this will be more an attempt to resolve the ethnic issue than to find a solution to end the war in Afghanistan. Without the formation of a comprehensive political and ethnic government in the country, it is impossible to create an effective army with a combination of representatives of several heterogeneous generations.
The Taliban contact commission's approach to some Republican-era figures also seems to fail because the Taliban's returnees cannot resolve the deadlock of the Taliban's security crisis and illegitimacy.
