Afghan General: ANDSF Ready to Crush Taliban after Withdrawal

Gen. Haibatullah Alizai, the Commander of Special Operations Command of the Afghan National Army (ANA), on Wednesday assured the Afghan people that the nation’s armed forces are fully prepared to crush any hostile move by the Taliban once the US and NATO forces withdraw from the country.

He said that members of the Special Operations Command are among the best in the world and will not allow the Taliban to win on the battlefield.

“Currently, we are leading 95 percent of the operations and there is no role for foreigners in it; we are capable of planning and launching the operations,” said Alizai.

Alizai has pursued his military education in the UK and the US. He has also served in the Afghan intelligence agency and Ministry of Defense.

“We said it in the past and are saying it now that the Taliban shouldn’t use the burqa and shouldn’t use children and civilian homes, they should appear in the battlefield so that we can determine the fate of the war,” said Alizai, referring to the Taliban’s use of civilians as human shields during battles.

Alizai, 35, has foiled two attempts by the Taliban to take over Farah province.

He also played a key role in suppressing the Taliban militants in Arghandab district of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan in recent months.