Protest against Pakistan in Kabul, Taliban open fires

 Protest against Pakistan in Kabul, Taliban open fires

WHAT HAS HAPPENED?

07-09-2021

Hundreds of Afghans, mostly women, took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday in an anti-Pakistan rally in which they chanted slogans against Islamabad and ISI.

As the protests intensified, the Taliban opened fireon the rally.

ABOUT THE PROTESTS

Hundreds of Kabul residents came out on the streets today in protest against what they said was meddling by Pakistan in Afghanistan's affairs, three weeks after the Taliban takeover.In videos shared by local journalists on social media, the crowds were heard shouting slogans like "death to Pakistan", "we don't want a Pakistani puppet government" and "Pakistan, leaveAfghanistan", among others.

INVOLVEMENT OF ISI

Pakistan's espionage agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has gained notoriety for supporting terror groups against India,is believed to be working with the Taliban andLaying the groundwork for the new government in the country where a US-led alliance fought a war against terror for 20 years.

"ISI stay away," reads a placard in the hands of a woman at today's protest outside the Pakistani embassyin the Afghan capital.ISI chief FaizHameed was in Kabul at the weekend, reportedly to be briefed by his country's ambassador but is likely to have also met with Taliban officials.

Pakistani Minister Sheikh Rashid said on a TV show said that the Pakistan government has always been the “custodian” of the Taliban leaders, alluding to the fact that they owe allegiance toIslamabad and Rawalpindi.“We are the custodians of Taliban leaders. We have taken care of them for long. They got shelter, education and a home in Pakistan. We have done everything for them,” declared Rashid while speakingto a Pakistani news channel.Later, the protests spread to the Balkh province in the north of Afghanistan where hundreds were seen agitating on the streets.

SHOTS FIRED

The Taliban fired shots in the air to disperse the anti-Pakistanrally in Kabul.AsvakaNews, a local media outlet reported that the Taliban opened fire on protesters gathered near the Presidential Palace in Kabul.The protesters were marching towards the Kabul Serena Hotel where the Pakistan ISI director has been staying since last week

MORE WOMENPROTESTERS

The Talibanhave yet to announce a government,but Afghans --fearful of a repeat of the group's previous brutal reign between 1996 and 2001Have staged small, isolated demonstrations in cities including the capital Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif.Women wearing niqabs and burqas hit the streets of Kabul raising slogans against Pakistan.

In one video shared on Twitter, an Afghan woman says, “No one has the right to invade Panjshir, neitherPakistan, nor Taliban.”The Taliban on Monday claimed they have completed the capture of Panjshir Valley, from where the resistance forces had been fighting a strenuous battle against the Taliban.

WHAT ABOUT GOVT FORMATION?

The armed group has not yet announced a government, but thename of a lesser known Taliban leaderwho is in the United Nationsterror watch list, Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund,Is doing the rounds as someone who could be the next Prime Minister of Afghanistan.Disagreements between the terrorist group's multiple factions have so far stymied government formation in the war-torn nation

Themain contenders for power, whose struggles have delayed the announcement of a new regime,Include the Doha unit of the Taliban headed by Mullah Baradar, the Haqqani Network, a semi-independent terror outfit that operates in eastern Afghanistan, and the Kandahar faction of the Taliban.