Afghan resistance says Taliban caretaker government ‘illegal’
Kabul, Sep 8 (EFE).- The National Resistance Front (NRF) in the northern Panjshir province of Afghanistan described the Taliban’s new caretaker government as “illegal” and urged the international community not to recognize it.
The Taliban announced its interim cabinet late Tuesday, comprising of only members from the Islamist group and led by Mullah Muhammad Hasan Akhund as the head of the government with Abdul Ghani Baradar as his deputy.
“The NRF considers the announcement of the Taliban caretaker cabinet illegal and a clear sign of the group’s enmity with the Afghan people,” the resistance forces’ media office said in a statement.
Although the Taliban managed to seize control of Panjshir – the last defiant province against the Islamist group – earlier this week, the NRF urged its supporters to continue their resistance, which is mostly taking the form of protests.
“Our independent and freedom-loving people will continue to resist today until the country is freed from the Taliban and their terrorist allies,” it said, adding that the Taliban’s regime was “a threat to stability and security of Afghanistan, the region and the world.”
The NRF stressed that the establishment of a “democratic, legal and legitimate” government could only be achieved through “the will and vote of the people” in a general election accepted worldwide.
“We call on the United Nations, the European Union and other countries to hold off recognition of and refrain from diplomatic ties with the Taliban’s regime until such time when conditions based on the will of the people of Afghanistan is realized,” it added.
The Afghan resistance group also indicated it was looking to form its own government.
“NRF will soon make a decision on the future government after consultations with Afghanistan’s important political figures and policy experts,” it said.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, the NRF has blamed and condemned the Taliban regime for large-scale and deliberate attacks on civilians in Panjshir.
“After suffering heavy losses in multiple encounters with the NRF forces, the Taliban have resorted to a sustained campaign of massacring civilians,” it said, stressing that the Islamist group’s actions bordered on genocide.
Moreover, the group urged the global community and the United Nations to hold the Taliban and their foreign sponsors accountable for their crimes against civilians in Panjshir.
The NRF, led by Ahmad Masoud – son of legendary Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Masoud -, comprises of local militia fighters and remnants of the Afghan security forces in Panjshir and a few surrounding areas. EFE
hsb/pd/sc
