Taliban troops are set, they have already captured most of the territory, their leader has fled the country, most people are running in terror, and then a statement comes out, “I am still here, I am not ready to compromise”. Yes! This is the story of Afghanistan’s Former Vice President – Mr Amrullah Saleh.
As per the law, when Mr Ashraf Ghani, the Ex-president of Afghanistan, decided to flee the country, he declared himself the acting president.
The Talibs had announced themselves as the winners at that point; they had already captured Kabul and the presidential palace at that point, the civilians were indeed in chaos, and it would have been wise to leave the country at that hour.
Still, to everyone’s surprise, without any fear, Mr Saleh announced through Twitter, he declared – he is the acting president.
His fight and anger against the Taliban aren’t new; it first started when he had fought alongside the Anti-Taliban fighter, Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Later, they were forced to leave Kabul as the Taliban came into force in 1996. In an attempt to prison all those who had fought against them, the Taliban started looking for Amrullah as well.
In that search, they claimed to have captured and killed his sister. This was a central breaking point for Amrullah, who was already an orphan from a very young age.
“My view of the Taliban changed forever because of what had happened in 1996,” he had shared this with Time Magazine last year.
Amrullah was also an essential asset for the CIA in their anti-Taliban resistance after the 9/11 attacks. With the earned goodwill, he was selected to lead the Afghanistan Intelligence Agency, National Security Directorate, in 2004.
Because of his vast network of informants and a great relationship with the west, Amrullah has held many such important positions in Afghanistan over the years.
However, such responsibilities always came with a cost. There have been multiple attempts to assassin Amrullah by the Taliban over the past few years. But, not once, he has bowed to their conditions.
Where is he now?
According to reports, he was last seen in Panjshir, the only Province in Afghanistan, which is still not under the territory of the Taliban.
Amrullah, along with many Anti-Taliban leaders, has gathered there to fight against the Taliban. They have started to collect resources and plan the way to get their nation back.
More than 6000 fighters, made up from remnants of the army and local militants, are currently there in the valley.
(As per some claims shared by people near Massoud) The attack is planned under the leadership of Amrullah (the acting president of Afghanistan) and Ahmad Massoud (son of Mr Ahmad Shah Massoud, the leader along with whom Amrullah had fought in 1996).
According to a tweet made by Amrullah today, Talibs have already arrived at Panjshir entrance. But, he didn’t appear to be terrified by the army.
Instead of the sides’ readiness to deal with the war, both of them have decided to initiate the peace talks to avoid the terror of going into war again.
It will be crucial for the people of Afghanistan to see how their leaders handle the entire situation. Will the peace talk help establish a new government with unorthodox rules? One can only hope.
