Taliban arrest Afghan government’s last northern stronghold falls
Afghan government remember in the last 48 hours there are many provincial capitals that that of course have fallen to the Taliban and at this point of time it remains to be seen as to have the Afghan government of Ashraf Ghani will of course rise up to meet with the challenge that the Taliban presently pose there is one provincial capital after another that has fallen even Mazari sharif the fourth
largest city in Afghanistan has also fallen to the Taliban including other cities such as Kandahar and heart as well now this of course is the big story that is playing out in south Asia is the government of Ashraf Ghani even this point of time has it got its strategy in
place is something that needs to be looked out now the Taliban is of course tightening its news around Afghanistan the Taliban fighters have captured the key in the last government stronghold in the northern part of Afghanistan they’ve taken over the eastern
Afghan city of Jalalabad as well the Taliban has now left the capital Kabul as the last major urban area that is still under the control of Ashraf Ghaniâs government the capital of the balk province the city of Mazari sharif is also now under Taliban’s control this of
course is the fourth largest city in Afghanistan and previously it was also an anti-Taliban bastion this is a major gain for the Taliban as they are continuously moving in and are closing in around Kabul the reports say the city fell almost without any resistance from
the Afghan forces warlords Abdul Rasheed Dostum and also attar Muhammad Nur who had led a militia resistance in the city to support the government forces and they reportedly fled to Uzbekistan about 30 kilometers to the north Ranula later tweeted that
they had been betrayed by the military since all the government the defense equipment had been handed over to the Taliban now there are several strategic reasons as to why the control of Mazari sharif is important the Taliban had won control of Mazari sharif way back in 1997.
However Taliban had lost Mazar-e-sharif within a span of a week and had to wait until 1998 to win it back remember Mazari sharif is in proximity to three neighboring countries such as Turkmenistan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and the inhabitants of Mazari sharif are mainly Uzbeks Tajiks and Turkmens is located in one of the most fertile regions producing cotton grain and fruit the main
industries include flower milling and the manufacturing of silk and cotton textiles the region is connected by road and air with Kabul which is nearly about 200 miles southeast it is the country’s chief transit point for central Asian trade the most important of
Afghanistan’s three existing railway lines connect Missouri sharif to Harapan station right to the border with Uzbekistan but the line is currently run by the Uzbek railways and also connects with the rail network of Uzbekistan that in turn connects to Russia Mazari
sharif’s airport is also housed also used to be used by NATO led forces including the Iran air force the president ashfani had traveled to the city just a few days ago and the loss of Mazari sharif is of course a huge blow for the Ashraf Ghani government and also his
allies just hours before the fall of Mazari sharif the Afghan president Ashford had in fact addressed the nation and it vowed to prevent further bloodshed now 26 out of Afghanistan 34 provinces have already fallen into the Taliban and what you’re looking at
on your screens are those areas that are now under Taliban’s control the provinces of baal faryab Paktika pathya and also kunar are the latest to join the list of those provinces that have now fallen into the hands of the Taliban the Taliban has already claimed the
second the third and also the fourth largest of the provinces the Taliban is knocking on the door of Afghanistan’s largest city and also the capital Kabul and is the threat of Kabul worsens with every passing minute heavy security has also been deployed in the
national capital the Taliban’s shocking advancement has left the world leaders scrambling for options as more and more countries
are closing their embassies and are also evacuating their diplomats out of Afghanistan US president joe Biden has ramped up efforts to safely evacuate U.S personnel and other allied personnel now approximately nearly 5 000 U.S troops have been deployed
for the same Biden has also warned that any action on the Taliban’s part on the ground that puts the American personnel at risk will be met with a swift and a strong U.S military response.
But the fact of the matter is irrespective of what the united states is doing in terms of air support the Taliban seems to be winning city after city district after district and province after province in Afghanistan now the U.S secretary of state Anthony Blinken also
spoke with Afghan president Ashraf Ghani about the developments that are taking place in Afghanistan and according to the U.S state department the secretary has emphasized American commitment to a strong diplomatic and security relationship with the
government of Afghanistan secretary blinken will also be engaging with other key regional stakeholders now with every passing day the Taliban is of course inching closer to the Afghan capital the Taliban has now laid a virtual siege around Kabul and vyond’s
correspondent Anas malik traveled to the vardak province which is only about a half an hour drive from Kabul and the battle is of course intensifying heavy gunfire shots resonating in the air and a very tense atmosphere this is madhan Shahir just over 40
kilometers from the Afghan capital Kabul intense gun battle is raging between the Afghan forces and Taliban terrorists the Afghan forces are gearing up with heavy artillery to up their counter offensive the valleys that you see behind me have been attacked by the Afghan Taliban there is use of weaponry as you can hear and as you can see here this is being done in order to repulse the
Taliban there are shots that have been fired intermittently and now we hear that the Afghan army retaliates through these shorts the city wears a deserted look the locals have fled wean is reporting right from the middle of an active war zone well there is
currently tense environment here if my camera person can follow me uh we are not allowed to go up from a certain point because of the fear of bullets being fired by the Taliban but uh they’re very close to where we are you can see army men taking away if i can
request my camera person to just stay back as well uh you can see there are how movies that are here uh there is firing that you can probably hear as well uh life has come to a standstill i it just does not seem like the same city where i was less than two weeks
ago uh this this is a practically this is an active war zone where Iâm standing uh this is uh this this road divides uh Madan shah onwards uh to another province and this is in very close proximity to the capital city of Kabul the Taliban is continuing its blitzkrieg
every passing hour the terrorists are inching closer to the capital in Kabul there is palpable fear security has been beefed up but everyone is worried about what now seems inevitable the battle rages on the big question can the embattled Afghan troops manage
to protect the remaining citadel Kabul.
