"If No Path to Negotiation is Found, we Will Resort to Armed Resistance"

 Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the Islamic Unity Party of the People of Afghanistan and head of the political committee of the National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan, said in an exclusive interview that if no path to negotiations with the Taliban is found, the Council’s supporters will turn to armed resistance against the Taliban.

 

The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan, comprising influential political leaders from the Pashtun, Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek ethnic groups, was formed in exile in 2022 after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Members of the Council's leadership include Abdul Rashid Dostum, Mohaqiq, Atta Mohammad Noor, Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, Yunus Qanooni, and Salahuddin Rabbani.

 

At the end of 2022, the Council released a plan titled "Saving the Country from Crisis," in which military action was mentioned as a potential means to pressure the Taliban into negotiations. However, Mohaqiq emphasized that the Council's preference for resolving Afghanistan’s current crisis is peace negotiations under the supervision of the United Nations, though military options remain on the table.

 

Taliban's Continued Rule Over Afghanistan is a Serious Threat to the Region and the World

 

Mohaqiq stated that the Taliban has failed in providing security, establishing peace, improving the economy, and building international relations, and due to their cooperation with international and regional terrorist organizations, they pose a significant threat to the region and the world. He added, “The Taliban seized control of Afghanistan by force and continue to rule oppressively. Their continued rule is a serious threat to the region and the world.”

 

According to Mohaqiq, the ongoing armed resistance against the Taliban, particularly in northern Afghanistan, demonstrates the people's rejection of the group: "The people in the north and northeast of Afghanistan are fighting against the Taliban. This war fluctuates, sometimes intensifying and sometimes subsiding, but the important thing is that resistance exists, and the people are dissatisfied."

 

He further noted that opposition groups outside Afghanistan are also actively engaging in political efforts and discussions with governments and international organizations to find a way out of the current crisis.

 

Mohaqiq stressed the necessity of negotiations with the Taliban to form a government representing all ethnicities and political factions in Afghanistan. However, if no path to negotiations is found, military options remain on the table for the National Resistance Council.

 

According to Mohaqiq, the Council's members agree that Afghanistan’s future must be based on a decentralized system, as the centralized system has proven inadequate for the country’s people and geography.

I interviewed Mohammad Mohaqiq in March 2023 in Ankara, Turkey.

 

The Taliban Are Deceiving the Region and the U.S.

 

The U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) reported in early February that U.S. aid to Afghanistan under the Taliban has reached $8 billion, with over $2 billion sent to Kabul as humanitarian assistance. Mohaqiq claimed that alongside humanitarian aid, the U.S. has also been providing $40 million cash packages to the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense and Interior, led by Mullah Yaqoob and Sirajuddin Haqqani, respectively.

 

According to Mohaqiq, Taliban soldiers in the Ministry of Defense and Interior receive regular monthly salaries funded by U.S. aid. While the exact number of Taliban soldiers is unclear, the group's officials recently claimed that their forces in the Ministry of Defense number around 150,000.

 

Mohaqiq believes that the Taliban have played both the U.S. and regional countries, securing substantial funds that have enabled them to maintain power. The Taliban tell regional countries that they oppose the U.S. and are not a threat, while simultaneously claiming to the U.S. that they want to be allies and help implement American plans in the region. 

 

Why Has No Armed Front Against the Taliban Formed Among the Hazaras?

 

Mohaqiq, who leads a powerful political party among Afghanistan’s Hazaras, said that in the 1990s, Hazaras were a major part of the armed resistance against the Taliban. However, during the Taliban’s second rule, circumstances did not allow for an opportunity to form armed resistance. In response to whether there is a capacity to form resistance against the Taliban among Hazaras if negotiations fail, Mohaqiq said: “There is manpower. What is important is for a leader to rise and carry the banner of resistance. Although I’m retired and 68 years old, I still have the patience for 10 more years [of resistance[.