Seize Three Districts In Northern Afghanistan: Taliban Reaffirm Amnesty, Pardon President Ashraf Ghani

Illustration of Taliban forces. (Wikimedia Commons/VOA)

JAKARTA - Taliban forces have retaken three districts in northern Afghanistan that last week fell to local militias, a spokesman said Monday.

Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar districts in Baghlan province were briefly taken by local militia groups, the first insurgency since the Taliban captured the capital Kabul on August 15.

On Monday, Taliban forces had cleared districts and established in Badakhshan, Takhar and Andarab near the Panjshir valley, according to the Twitter account of spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

"The Islamic Emirate is trying to resolve the issue peacefully," Zabihullah said, citing Reuters Monday, August 23.

Previously, troops loyal to Ahmad Massoud, son of anti-Soviet mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, had established themselves in the Panjshir valley, a mountainous area northwest of Kabul that fought the Taliban before 2001.

Massoud, whose forces include remnants of the regular army and special forces units, has called for negotiations to form an inclusive government for Afghanistan. However, it vowed to fight back if Taliban forces tried to enter the valley.

Deposed Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. (Wikimedia Commons/DFID - UK Department for International Development)

Late Sunday, the Taliban's Alemarah information service, said hundreds of fighters were heading for Panjshir. However, there has been no immediate confirmation of any battles.

Zabihullah Mujahid said the Salang Pass, on the main highway that runs from southern Afghanistan to the north, was open and enemy forces were blockaded in the Panjshir valley. However, his statement indicated there was no fighting for now.

Separately, senior Taliban leader Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani in an interview with Geo TV Pakistan reiterated that it had issued a comprehensive amnesty to all Afghan government officials, including President Ashraf Ghani.

According to him, there is no enmity between the Talib and ousted President Ashraf Ghani, Vice President Amrullah Saleh and National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib.

"We forgive everyone from our side, from generals who fought against us, to ordinary people," the TV channel quoted TASS as saying.

He also called on Afghans who fled the country to return, refuting propaganda that the Taliban would seek revenge against them, and saying it was spread by the enemy.

"Taliban officials swear all ethnic Afghans can feel safe in the country. Tajiks, Balochs, Hazaras and Pashtuns are all our brothers," he said.

To note, along with the entry of the Taliban into Kabul, Ashraf Ghani was forced to flee, while international countries carried out large-scale evacuation operations through the airport in Kabul.