Taliban are testing government forces in several cities in Afghanistan
Murad Makhmudov and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Taliban knows that America is in a weak position after President Biden ushered the pull out of American military forces. Immediately, allies of America followed suit. Therefore, the Taliban is stepping up its power play in Afghanistan and is now focusing on important cities.
In many rural parts of Afghanistan, the sway of the Taliban is in the ascendancy. Hence, the Taliban is now testing the armed forces of Afghanistan in the cities of Herat, Lashkar Gah, and Kandahar.
President Ashraf Ghani knows that the balance is tilting negatively. Thus Ghani seeks reassurances from Biden that funding will continue concerning the battlefield and areas related to the infrastructure. Despite this, with each new attack by the Taliban against government-controlled cities, the Taliban know the psychological impact that this is having on ordinary Afghan nationals.
The BBC reports, “The fundamentalist Islamist militia is already thought to have captured up to half of all Afghanistan’s territory, including lucrative border crossings with Iran and Pakistan, but it has yet to take a provincial capital.”
A representative of the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, confirmed that the Taliban had bombed the airport in Kandahar. He said, “Kandahar airport was targeted by us because the enemy was using it as a center to conduct airstrikes against us.”
The Guardian reports, “The facility is vital to maintaining the logistics and air support needed to keep the Taliban from overrunning the city, while also providing aerial cover for large tracts of southern Afghanistan.”
In the past, Kunduz fell briefly to the Taliban. However, ultimately Afghanistan sent in special forces along with support from various NATO allies. Yet, since the pullout of these forces, the Taliban is now upping the ante to install fear in forces loyal to the government of Afghanistan.
The situation is very fragile. Thus, China recently met with a delegation from the Taliban about issues concerning Xinjiang. Therefore, with China having cordial relations with Pakistan, the Taliban is likely to listen.
America is now a bit-part in the future of Afghanistan – just like what happened in Iraq, Libya, and Syria. Hence, the geopolitical changing sands are shifting, with Washington set to become a bystander once more.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58040141
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