Afghanistan government today sacked its army chief for Taliban’s quick control over nine provincial capitals in a week’s time. Afghan army chief General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai and appointed Maj-Gen. Haibatullah Alizai as new chief of army.
Earlier, Maj-Gen. Haibatullah Alizai was the head of strategic operations in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, acting finance minister of Afghanistan Khalid Payenda resigned today and left Afghanistan amid continuous victories of Taliban in the country.
With new advances by Taliban forces, nine of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals have been snapped from the defacto Afghan government.
Afghanistan’s foreign minister called for international sanctions to be reimposed on Taliban leaders as the insurgent movement seized three more provinces, tightening their grip on the country and preparing for a push on Kabul.
With Farah, Baghlan and Badakshan provinces falling, the Taliban rebellion has conquered nine of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals, including important cities such as Kunduz, since Friday. They have also strengthened their circle around the country’s biggest regional hubs of Herat, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif.
Pertinent to note that Taliban have tightened their grip on captured Afghan territory on Tuesday as civilians hid in their homes, with an EU official saying the militants now controlled 65% of the country after a string of sudden gains as foreign forces pull out.
President Ashraf Ghani called on regional strongmen to support his government. In the capital Kabul, Ghani’s aides said he was seeking help from regional militias he has squabbled with over the years to rally to the defence of his government. He had also appealed to civilians to defend Afghanistan’s “democratic fabric”.
Afghanistan’s acting finance minister has resigned and left the country after the Taliban armed group took more than a quarter of Afghanistan’s provincial capitals in less than a week.
The group has captured nine provincial capitals in Afghanistan since Friday, including Faizabad, Farah, Pul-e-Khumri, Sar-e-Pul, Sheberghan, Aybak, Kunduz, Taluqan and Zaranj.
The Taliban has already gained vast parts of rural Afghanistan since launching a series of offensives in May to coincide with the start of the final withdrawal of foreign forces.
Khalid Payenda, Afghanistan’s acting finance minister, has resigned and left the country after the Taliban captured key customs posts bleeding the administration of revenue, according to Bloomberg media network.
Payenda has “resigned and left the country because Afghanistan is grappling with declining revenues after the takeover of the custom posts”, finance ministry spokesman Mohammad Rafi Tabe tells Bloomberg.
