“No brother, they are not Pashtuns, they are a Pakistani proxy force and I know firsthand that most of them are Pakistanis”.
Yesterday, May 5, at 16:21, the Wathandoust Front (Patriotic Front), another anti-Taliban front in Afghanistan, carried out its first guerrilla attack in the town of Mahmoud Ghaznavi in Ghazni province, killing two Taliban fighters.
The Sangar website’s correspondent in Kabul, Farzam Kazemi, managed to find the commander of this front and had a short conversation with him. The first question was about himself and the goals of the Vatandust Front.
- I am a former and honest officer of the Republic (Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2001 - 2022)). “Watandoust (Patriot)” is my nickname. I founded the Watandoust Front with the same soldiers and officers that I had under my command in the past. I myself am a Pashtun, among my soldiers also there are Tajiks and Hazaras. We currently operate in three provinces - Kabul, Ghazni, and Herat. Our goal is to free Afghanistan from the Taliban.
- What is the number of your people?
- Now we are 43 people, and 22 of them have weapons.
- Are those Republic-era weapons?
- No. I started my work with my own money, I have neither a sponsor nor foreign support. Indeed, weapons are our shortage. We must take weapons from the enemy. It is important for us both to destroy the Taliban and take their weapons. All the weapons we have, I bought out of my own pocket. I have my own business. I also sold two personal cars and bought weapons. We take weapons from Talib and increase our ranks.
- That is, you will be limited to small operations?
- On the contrary, we are planning attacks on large groups, districts, or police stations of the Taliban in order to obtain more weapons and ammunition and replenish our ranks.
- Why, for example, did you not join the National Resistance Front, the Liberation Front, or the Azadagan Front, which also mainly consist of former officers and soldiers of the Republic?
- We are not such a big front, we do not have so many forces and means, but we are professional soldiers. Some have also gone through foreign military schools in the past, fought for years, and are quite experienced. For example, the former police chiefs of the provinces of Ghazni and Wardak are with us. We will definitely cooperate and coordinate our actions with other fronts. We will fight hand in hand and drive the enemy out of the country. We consider ourselves one of them because we all have one goal - the liberation of the Motherland.
- You see, with the exception of the National Resistance Front, headed by Ahmad Massoud, the leaders of other fronts, although they have names, do not reveal themselves in any way. You too. Why?
- I am a well-known person, I worked in one of the leading positions of one power ministry and they know me well. I am still in Kabul, and you yourself understand what will happen to me if I reveal myself or my soldiers. Although I am an officer, now I am a partisan and must work as a partisan - secretly and intellectually. If God willing, one day I will definitely reveal myself and my name. I hope in the Sangar site.
- Thanks. You said you are a Pashtun. Power is now in the hands of the Pashtuns. A large number of Pashtun intellectuals even support the Taliban. What is your motivation?
- My friends often ask me this question. My answer is that Afghanistan is home to all ethnic groups - Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and everyone else. Secondly, what is it like with the Pashtun government killing former Pashtun officers and soldiers? No brother, they are not Pashtuns, they are a Pakistani proxy force and I know firsthand that most of them are Pakistanis. The fate of Afghanistan is at stake, and it must be decided by the people who live in it.
