Afghan security force members are seen on a military vehicle during a military operation in Zhari district of southern Kandahar province, Afghanistan, June 22, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)
Afghan security force members take part in a cleanup operation against Taliban militants in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, June 5, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)
Afghan security force members take part in a cleanup operation against Taliban militants in Jawzjan province, Afghanistan, June 5, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)
The Taliban militants have intensified activities since the start of the U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan on May 1 and have overrun numerous districts as the armed group's former foes prepare to fight back.
The Taliban outfit, according to its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, has captured more than 70 districts over the past month and in the latest advancement it has occupied Khash district in the northern Badakhshan province on Wednesday.
Confirming the fall of Khash district to the Taliban, army officer Abdul Razeq said that the security forces had made "tactical retreat" from Khash to reduce civilian casualties, while Taliban spokesman Mujahid claimed capturing the district by force.
Afghan political observers doubted the Taliban's push for a military victory, warning the militants would face backlash if it opted for armed offensives instead of peace talks.
"The locals would take up arms against the Taliban if the armed group pushes for military victory and frequent uprisings of people in several provinces could be a sound proof to the fact," local analyst Khan Mohammad Daneshjo told Xinhua on Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of people, according to the observer, have taken up arms against the Taliban fighters in Faryab, Jawzjan, Balkh, Herat, Ghor, Badghis, Takhar and Baghlan provinces over the past couple of days and vowed to support the security forces against the insurgents.
The Taliban has no chance of a military victory, the analyst observed, adding, "the local uprisings have forced the advancing militants to retreat from a dozen districts" over the past two days.
"Since the Taliban group has no economic, social and political programs for the country to win people's support, the group can't uphold its victory," the expert said.
"Whenever it captures a district it dynamites the district headquarters, destroys musical instruments, bridges and asphalted roads and that is why the people migrate to other places when they face the Taliban fighters."
The analyst, who is also the editor-in-chief of the Abbadi daily, opined that the "logic way for the Taliban is to reach an agreement with the Afghan government on the negotiating table" to find a political solution to their country's lingering crisis.
Following the so-called peace deal inked between the United States and Taliban in February 2020, the intra-Afghan dialogue was held in the Qatari capital Doha on Sept. 12 last year but no tangible progress has been reported.
According to Afghan officials, the Taliban outfit has been buying time. Instead of sitting before the negotiating table it has been pushing for war and that is why the armed group's fighters have engaged the security forces across the country.
Locals' uprisings against Taliban under the leadership of former Jihadi commanders or Taliban's former foes have been on the rise in the war-torn country.
Ata Mohammad Noor, a former anti-Taliban commander and ex-governor of Balkh province, visited Balkh's provincial capital Mazar-i-Sharif on Tuesday and vowed to repulse the Taliban militants if the group moved towards the relatively peaceful Mazar-i-Sharif city.
Similarly, senior advisor to president and former anti-Taliban commander Mohammad Mohaqiq has said recently that the "Taliban does not believe in peace talks and therefore we are ready to fight" the group back.
"The Taliban cannot impose its rule on Afghans by force. People won't tolerate the Taliban obstructive culture," expert Najibullah Kabuli told local media. Kabuli also called upon the Taliban outfit to choose peace talks instead of war, otherwise the locals would stand alongside the government to fight back.
