Taliban is killing civilians in Panjshir and persecuting others
Kanako Mita and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The Taliban is enforcing its iron grip on Afghanistan. Thus opposition forces in the Panjshir Valley understand that the current situation is extremely bleak. Especially with the government of President Joe Biden in America playing platitudes to Qatar and seeking accommodation with Pakistan. After all, Pakistan and Qatar both support the Taliban differently, with Pakistan’s involvement being the main protagonist in holding Afghanistan back.
Forces opposed to the Taliban in Panjshir face an enormous struggle because no outside nation is providing support to the beleaguered people of this region of Afghanistan. Henceforth, the Taliban and the involvement of Pakistan are focused on crushing all of the Panjshir Valley until they have complete control.
Naturally, given the past record of the Taliban, massacres are being reported in the Panjshir Valley and other parts of Afghanistan. The BBC alone knows of twenty civilians killed by the Taliban in the Panjshir area. Of course, this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg because open reporting in Taliban-controlled areas is out of the question and communication angles have been cut off.
The BBC reports they know of massacres being perpetrated by the Taliban. This includes a shopkeeper who had visible signs of torture. Hence, the rule of fear and arbitrary persecution is spreading throughout all areas under the control of the Taliban.
The Hazaras are overwhelmingly Shia and even before the Taliban took power they were often killed by Sunni Islamists. Henceforth, the Hazaras – just like the people of Panjshir – fear fresh massacres and being cleansed. Indeed, the interlinkage of Sunni Islamism is witnessed by this group being killed in Pakistan after fleeing from Afghanistan.
The Guardian reports, “Yet even in Pakistan, the Hazaras are not in safe territory. Here too they have been persecuted for three decades by the Sunni militant groups. Earlier this year, 10 Hazara miners working in Balochistan were murdered by members of Islamic State. According to a 2019 report by Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, at least 509 Hazara have been murdered for their faith since 2013.”
The Biden administration is giving carte blanche to the Taliban and Pakistan because America played its hand before the Taliban took control – and since events on the ground have altered, the same elites in Washington are showing their hand in the favor of the Taliban by stealth by supporting Qatar and Pakistan.
If the Taliban and Pakistan believe that they can rule Afghanistan by fear – and if ethnic and religious massacres increase – then internal and regional convulsions will eventually emerge to a higher level.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58545892
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