Ashis Ray

More diplomacy won’t stop the advance of the Taleban

Afghan National Army commando forces (photo: Getty)

On 11 August, at Russia’s initiative, an ‘extended troika’ will meet in Doha, Qatar to take stock of the Taleban’s major offensive to take over Afghanistan. The United States, scheduled to withdraw its forces by the end of this month, has been invited to this ‘Moscow format’, as have China and Pakistan.

As of yesterday, the violent Islamist group had taken control of six provincial capitals in Afghanistan – though not the most important cities in the country. The US negotiator at Doha, Zalmay Khalilzad has warned that ‘a Taleban government that comes to power through force in Afghanistan will not be recognised.’ But so far the militants have refused to engage in negotiations with the elected Afghan government.

Battle currently rages over Kunduz, a city in the north near Tajikistan with a population of around 350,000. This would be a significant gain for the Taleban, especially if they can retain the city. The Taleban are mainly made up of Pashtuns, while the locals in Kunduz are largely ethnically Tajiks or Uzbeks.

The Russia-led conference in Doha is a coded attempt to rein in Pakistan

The over-extended Afghan military are at their wits end but they continue to resist a complete overrun of Lashkar Gah, capital of the Pashtun-dominated capital of Helmand province. There are conflicting reports about the Taleban’s influence in Kunduz and Lashkar Gah, with some reports suggesting the group are virtually in charge there already. Mazar-i-Sharif, the fourth largest city in Afghanistan, is also being targeted but it would be a surprise if it fell to the Taleban.

Indiscriminate bombardment by the jihadis has already led to civilian casualties including, as Unicef has highlighted, scores of innocent children being killed. Already there are reports of vendettas taking place and women being subjugated in areas occupied by the Taleban.

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