A Taliban official to Al Jazeera Net: The movement's new strategy... the borders first

KABUL

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The withdrawal of the US and NATO forces from Afghanistan was an opportunity for the Taliban to test the strength and capabilities of the government forces that foreign forces spent 20 years training and qualifying.

Observers believe that the rapid progress made by the Taliban movement on the ground, and its control of large areas in a short period of time, is an indication of the movement's ability to control all of Afghanistan if the United States adheres to the terms of the agreement it signed with the movement in February 2020 in Doha, which It provides for a complete withdrawal and a complete cessation of all combat missions that the United States was carrying out in Afghanistan.

But if the United States continues to bomb Taliban positions and provide air support to Afghan forces, this will prolong the war in Afghanistan without resolving the ongoing conflict, according to observers.

With the faltering of the Afghan-Afghan negotiations, the Taliban adopted a strategy of superiority in the field by seizing many directorates in various states, and recently tended to seize the centers of the states in the north and west. It also managed to control Afghanistan’s crossings with neighboring countries, thus tightening its control over the economy’s arteries in Afghanistan, and this is what constituted the new element in the strategy of the Taliban movement.

In the past few weeks, the Taliban-controlled border crossings totaled two-thirds of the commercial crossings (7 out of 10), while the government controls two, Torkham and Ghulam Khan with Pakistan, and the Heratan crossing with Uzbekistan.

On this, Jankhan Al-Kouzi, adviser to the Afghan Chambers of Commerce, told Al Jazeera Net, "The government incurs losses of about 3 billion Afghan rupees (about 4 million dollars) per month. This is a large amount, especially in light of the current circumstances, where money gangs control most of the mines, and the volume of exchange is low. trade with countries in the region.

In addition to the crossings, the movement was able to control 9 border regional capitals, during the last five days, which are Nimroz and Farah in the west, and Jawzjan, Sarbul, Samanjan, Takhar and Kunduz. "Baghlan" and "Badakhshan" in the north.

Mohajer Farahi, deputy head of the Taliban's Economic and Customs Committee in western Afghanistan (Al-Jazeera)

The economic artery is in the hands of the Taliban

The deputy head of the Taliban's Economic and Customs Committee in Western Afghanistan, Muhajir Farahi, said that "the Afghan government was imposing exorbitant customs on imported goods, and it used part of this money in its war against the Taliban, and part of it was being swept away by the current of corruption."

He continued, "Certainly, the movement's control of the crossings will have negative repercussions on the performance of the government, which has been unable to pay salaries to its soldiers, because it suffers from a severe budget deficit."

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Farahi added, "The Kabul government may not pay the salaries of civil servants in the areas recently seized by the Taliban, and what we collect from customs funds we will benefit from in providing civil services to citizens and in military operations with transparency."

Farahi affirms that customs revenues are the backbone of Afghanistan's economy, and "we will present a new model in customs administration based on transparency and fighting corruption."

On the neighboring countries' fears of the Taliban's control of the border crossings with them, Farahi dispelled the fears of these countries by saying, "We communicated and held talks with neighboring countries and the region, and we assured them that their interests would not be affected, and no dangers would threaten them."

He added, "The border crossings are Afghanistan's gateway to the world, especially the neighboring countries, and we are trying to present a correct image of the country and governance, and we are keen to improve bilateral relations with these countries, on the basis of mutual respect for the sovereignty of countries."

Taliban with a new strategy

Writer and political analyst Ahmed Saeedi says, "Customs covered 30% of state revenues, while 70% of the state budget came from aid funds provided to the Afghan government, and with the Taliban's seizure of border crossings, the Taliban became in a financial position superior to the Afghan government."

In his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, Saeedi believes that in addition to the money that the crossings generate for the Taliban, the movement benefits from these crossings in improving its relations with neighboring countries, which do not hide their fear of the Taliban's control of Afghanistan, and fear the infiltration of Central Asian fighters into those countries.

He added, "To reassure these countries, the Taliban opened direct channels of communication with them to improve their image, and to confirm that the movement does not intend to harm any party, especially Afghanistan's neighbors."

On the repercussions of the new reality on the political negotiations between the Taliban and the Kabul government, Saeedi said, "The Taliban's progress on the ground imposes a new reality that will inevitably reflect on the conduct of the negotiations, and may create tougher positions towards the Taliban, which seeks to curry favor with the world. The movement's policy is no longer the one that it practiced in the nineties. the last century, and she fears the political isolation she experienced during that period.

Therefore, the political analyst concludes his speech by saying, "The Taliban is working with a new strategy represented in controlling the crossings and centers of the border states, in particular, and avoids fighting battles to control the major cities in the country, especially the capital, Kabul."