AGL 38.52 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (2.53%)
AIRLINK 131.35 Decreased By ▼ -1.15 (-0.87%)
BOP 5.59 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.89%)
CNERGY 3.84 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.86%)
DCL 8.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.07 (-0.79%)
DFML 41.31 Increased By ▲ 0.31 (0.76%)
DGKC 87.92 Decreased By ▼ -2.24 (-2.48%)
FCCL 35.25 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (0.48%)
FFBL 66.50 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
FFL 10.63 Increased By ▲ 0.48 (4.73%)
HUBC 109.43 Increased By ▲ 3.03 (2.85%)
HUMNL 14.66 Increased By ▲ 1.26 (9.4%)
KEL 4.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.12 (-2.47%)
KOSM 7.02 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (2.48%)
MLCF 42.40 Increased By ▲ 0.60 (1.44%)
NBP 59.69 Increased By ▲ 1.11 (1.89%)
OGDC 183.96 Increased By ▲ 2.71 (1.5%)
PAEL 25.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-0.19%)
PIBTL 5.90 Increased By ▲ 0.07 (1.2%)
PPL 147.72 Decreased By ▼ -0.68 (-0.46%)
PRL 23.51 Increased By ▲ 0.29 (1.25%)
PTC 16.47 Increased By ▲ 1.23 (8.07%)
SEARL 69.41 Increased By ▲ 0.62 (0.9%)
TELE 7.21 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.41%)
TOMCL 36.00 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
TPLP 7.82 Increased By ▲ 0.42 (5.68%)
TREET 14.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.28%)
TRG 50.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-0.39%)
UNITY 26.80 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (1.52%)
WTL 1.22 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.83%)
BR100 9,813 Increased By 45.4 (0.47%)
BR30 29,766 Increased By 366.4 (1.25%)
KSE100 92,315 Increased By 377.4 (0.41%)
KSE30 28,840 Increased By 96.7 (0.34%)
World

Afghan warlord returns to fight for besieged home

  • The former vice president has been in Turkey for months, where he was believed to be receiving medical treatment
Published August 5, 2021

KABUL: Infamous warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum has returned to Afghanistan as the Taliban inch closer to taking control of his longtime stronghold in the north and fight for control of a string of cities elsewhere.

Ehsan Nero, a spokesman for the former army paratrooper, told AFP that Dostum arrived in Kabul on Wednesday night and was meeting senior officials to talk about security in Sheberghan, capital of Jawzjan province.

The former vice president has been in Turkey for months, where he was believed to be receiving medical treatment.

"He is waiting to meet President Ashraf Ghani," Nero said Thursday.

Dostum has overseen one of the largest militias in the north, which garnered a fearsome reputation in its fight against the Taliban in the 1990s -- along with accusations that his forces massacred thousands of insurgent prisoners of war.

A rout or retreat of his fighters would dent the Kabul government's recent hopes that militia groups could help bolster the country's overstretched military.

Fighting in Afghanistan's long-running conflict began to intensify in May, when US and other foreign forces began the final stage of a withdrawal due to be completed later this month.

The Taliban already control large portions of the countryside and are now challenging Afghan government forces in several large cities.

Second loud blast followed by gunfire rocks Afghan capital

The European Union on Thursday condemned the Taliban's latest deadly attacks in Afghanistan and demanded "an urgent, comprehensive and permanent ceasefire".

In a statement, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and EU commissioner for aid and crisis management Janez Lenarcic accused the Taliban of breaking their promise to seek a negotiated peace.

"This senseless violence is inflicting immense suffering upon Afghan citizens and is increasing the number of internally displaced persons in search of safety and shelter," they said.

The Afghan and US militaries have stepped up air strikes against the insurgents, and the Taliban warned Wednesday that they would target senior government officials in retaliation.

The Taliban threat came after the Afghan military continued a counterattack in the southern city of Lashkar Gah, where insurgents have infiltrated several parts in numbers.

Taliban claim to control 90 percent of Afghan border

The army told the city's 200,000 people to evacuate on Tuesday.

The insurgents have taken control of vast swaths of the countryside and key border towns, taking advantage of the security vacuum left by the withdrawal of US forces.

They are now targeting cities, with fierce fighting for a week around Herat, near the western border with Iran, as well as Lashkar Gah and Kandahar in the south.

As the Taliban make battlefield gains, months of on-and-off talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government in the Qatari capital of Doha have achieved little and appear to have lost momentum.

Comments

Comments are closed.