Taliban Deputy Claims Mujahideen Inflicted Misfortunes on Afghans After Soviet Withdrawal
KABUL (Afghan Verified) — Abdul Salam Hanafi, deputy administrative head of the Taliban prime minister's office, claimed that after the withdrawal of Soviet forces, the Mujahideen fought each other for power and subjected Afghanistan's people to sectarian, ethnic, linguistic and other divisions.
Hamidullah Fitrat, deputy Taliban spokesperson, said in a Sunday press release that Hanafi made the remarks at an event marking the anniversary of the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Hanafi stated that Mullah Mohammad Omar, the former Taliban leader, rose up alongside some Mujahideen at the time to liberate the people, establishing the first Taliban emirate and consolidating security.
Hanafi added that following the Saur Revolution coup, thousands of religious scholars were buried alive in deserts and mass graves. He said the subsequent Soviet invasion resulted in millions of Afghans becoming martyrs, wounded, disabled, homeless or refugees. Despite this, he asserted, Afghans never accepted the invasion, resisted Soviet forces and drove them from the country.
The comments come as Yaqub Mujahid, Taliban defense minister, urged members of the group at the 37th anniversary ceremony of the Soviet withdrawal to refrain from ethnic and linguistic prejudices.
The Hasht-e Subh report notes that prejudices related to language, religion, ethnicity and gender have increased in Afghanistan since the Taliban's return to power.
More in Politics
Taliban Not Inviting Karzai, Abdullah to National Day Events
Taliban Begins Implementing Penal Code Principles with Sentencing in Badghis
Taliban Defense Minister Yaqub Mujahid Urges Members to Forget Past, Avoid Revenge
IEA Officials Stress Afghan Unity, Global Engagement at Soviet Defeat Anniversary
DevelopingTaliban Not Inviting Karzai, Abdullah to National Day Events
Sources in Kabul report that the Taliban does not invite former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah to national day events or allow them to hold their own ceremonies, amid broader restrictions on their activities. Taliban Defense Minister Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid recently urged forgetting past affiliations.
DevelopingTaliban Begins Implementing Penal Code Principles with Sentencing in Badghis
The Taliban has started enforcing its new penal code principles, sentencing a man in Badghis province to prison and lashes for insulting the leader, amid criticism from activists and scholars.
ReliableTaliban Defense Minister Yaqub Mujahid Urges Members to Forget Past, Avoid Revenge
Taliban Defense Minister Yaqub Mujahid called on members to forget past rivalries and shun revenge to ensure stability, while reassuring neighbors that Afghanistan poses no threat, at the 37th anniversary of Soviet withdrawal.
ReliableIEA Officials Stress Afghan Unity, Global Engagement at Soviet Defeat Anniversary
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan officials, speaking at the 37th anniversary ceremony of the Soviet defeat, stressed national unity, territorial security, and openness to global engagement.