Taliban’s spiritual leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, has recently told confidantes that his group will retake Kabul “in a week” once America pulls out. The news reports claimed that he made the pledge at a recent meeting in the badlands of southwestern Pakistan, according to a source in regular contact with a member of Mullah Omar’s government-in-exile, dubbed the “Quetta Shura.”
Mullah Omar’s statement holds weight to a certain degree. If we have a short glance over 1990’s, we come to know that Taliban government spread to many provinces of Afghanistan like a wildfire. By 1996, they had formed their government in Afghanistan and had control over 90% of Afghan land.
However, the confidence portrayed by Taliban leaders is an indicator of the fact that their regime continues to enjoy support from certain countries. Also, the current administration has kept a soft stance towards Taliban and has failed to counter the fast-growing insurgency in the country. Meanwhile, Taliban know that the US-led NATO forces in Afghanistan are set to withdraw by the end of 2014.
These all have caused Taliban of dreaming about ruling Afghanistan once again. This is a challenge for the Afghan government which is financially and militarily backed by the international community.
The source who relayed Mullah Omar’s statements to FoxNews.com has also said Mullah Omar disavows the talks with the U.S. Omar has been silent over the Doha office for Taliban talks about which controversies continues since long and was finally inaugurated recently but with the name ‘Political Office of the Emirate of Afghanistan’ and Taliban’s flag.
Nearly 12-years after the fall of Taliban government have passed which has probably created rift among the Taliban. Some of the Taliban want to talk peace with the Afghan government while others remain reluctant and are in the frontline of Taliban’s fight with the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and NATO. It still remains unclear whether Mullah Omar is a supporter of former group or the later one.
The is question that whether Taliban’s office in Doha has Mullah Omar’s endorsement or not is in doubt as he remains committed to topple the Kabul government with a week after US forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, as the withdrawal time of the foreign troops from Afghanistan is getting closer, threats to life of the Afghans especially those who have been somehow engaged in working with government, US and other countries’ military and civil projects seems to have increased like never before. “Those who have hosted the Americans are a worse enemy than Americans,” the source has quoted Mullah Omar as saying.