Addressing the Taliban in his statement, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said, “If you are Afghan then come to a conclusion in building up of the country. If you have pledged allegiance to Punjabis and terrorist groups, don’t call yourself Afghan.”
The Afghan president and his government have been accusing the Taliban of backing Pakistan from day one and often refer to Punjab or Punjabis instead of Pakistan.
In his address, President Ghani asked where and in which cave Mullah Hebatullah, the head of the Taliban, is and whether he is alive?
“If he is alive, let’s go to the bazaars of Herat, to the streets of the shrine and to Kabul,” he said. Taliban leader Mullah Hebatullah and his other leaders are leading the Taliban from an unknown location, Ghani said.
Many Afghans , including Afghan authorities claim that the Taliban leadership is hiding in Pakistan, but the Afghan Taliban themselves claim that all their leadership is in Afghanistan but they hidden for security reasons.
Ashraf Ghani said if the Taliban have the respect of the people and want to run in the elections, he can call new elections in six months or a year. He stressed that bloodshed would not be allowed in Afghanistan and that there is no Islamic reason for Afghans to kill each other.
“We have paid a high price for peace and showed great gentleness, but instead war was imposed on us,” President Ghani said, indirectly referring to the release of the 5,000 Taliban prisoners by the Afghan government earlier in the peace process.
The EU special envoy for Afghanistan Tomas Niklasson while talking to the media said he sees no clear indication of a fundamental change in the Taliban based on considering what they say compared to what they do in the peace process and efforts for a political settlement to end the conflict in the country.
While pointing fingers to Pakistan for troubles, Niklasson said that Pakistan should make a choice about whether it wants a stable Afghanistan or an isolated Afghanistan that is governed by a regime over which Pakistan believes it has some influence.
While the militaries of other neighbouring countries of Afghanistan have started drills close to Afghan territory. According to Reuters, Uzbek military forces have crossed the Tajik border on Monday, to take part in joint Russian-Tajik-Uzbek drills close to the territory of Afghanistan.
Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Defense confirms the news saying the military exercises are to take place from August 5 to August 10.
Moscow said it would send a much bigger military contingent to Tajikistan for trilateral exercises amid fears in both countries over a worsening security situation in Afghanistan that could spill over into Central Asia.
Security has rapidly deteriorated in Afghanistan amid the US troop withdrawal. Moscow fears that could destabilize its southern defensive flank and push refugees into its Central Asian backyard.
On Monday, Russia’s defense ministry said that 1,800 of its soldiers would take part in the Tajik drills, instead of 1,000 as initially planned. More than 2,500 troops would be involved in total, it said. Moscow will also use 420 units of military hardware for the drills, double the quantity originally planned, it said.