Today, the Taliban announced a new commission meant to increase contact and persuade Afghan citizens abroad to return to the struggling country.
Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy spokesman for the Taliban government and head of the National Radio and Television, said all concessions would be made to all Afghan returnees, including politicians and the military, in addition to providing security guarantees. He added:
“Those who come in the future will be reassured, providing temporary accommodation for politicians and the military, as well as those with security concerns based on the need for the commission to see them and within the framework of intelligence. A bodyguard will also be provided.”
In a Press conference today, Shahabuddin Delavar, Chairman of the Commission for Contacting Afghan Personalities told press that: “Amir Khan Mottaqi, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Director of Intelligence, Khairullah Khairkhah, Acting Minister of Information and Culture, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, Acting Minister of Enjoining the Good and Forbidding the Evil, Fasihuddin Fitrat, Chief of the Taliban Ministry of Defense, Anas Haqqani, Abdul Rahman Mansour And Zia-ur-Rehman Madani will comprise the commission.”
The International Organization for Human Rights recently reported that as many as 500 former soldiers and politicians have been killed by the Taliban in midnight raids targeting known coalition collaborators. This commission is seeking to brush those atrocities under the rug and bring experienced men back into the fold as the country struggles with internal security against ISIS and external security with Pakistan and Tajikistan. Afghanistan is also facing a major food shortage and drought which has been exacerbated by the slow re-establishment of critical services. Chairman Delavar stressed that those who carry out retaliatory strikes “will be dealt with”. Hardly convincing considering last week the Taliban government announced a harsh return to the covering of women in the entire country.
As many as one million Afghani citizens fled the country since September, 2021. About 100,000 of those left with coalition forces during the dramatic withdrawal, while the largest number have fled via the slowly emerging commercial air routes and most notably, on foot into Iran, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan, causing much friction between the Taliban and their neighbors.
