Taliban Blasted for Attack on Herat City

Taliban’s offensive on the city of Herat was criticized by some lawmakers and analysts as a clear violation of their commitments to the Doha agreement, saying it has displaced hundreds of families and has created panic in the western city.

Under the US-Taliban agreement signed last year in Doha, the Taliban pledged to avoid attacks on major cities.

“Taliban had pledged not to attack cities, but they increased their offensive in defiance to their commitments,” said Sadiq Qaderi, an MP.

“If you (Taliban) have got some bravery, where were you the day when the Punjabis entered into the Afghan territory in Spin Boldak?” Hajj and Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Qasim Halimi said.

“Cities have been attacked, districts have been attacked, massive casualties have been inflicted to the people,” said Abdul Wadoud Sabit, a political analyst.

But Taliban has said that the group has no commitment to not attacking major cities.

A Taliban negotiator, Shahabuddin Dilawar at a press conference in Moscow this month said the group will have any type of military operation in 34 provinces of Afghanistan, including Kabul.

This comes a day after the Taliban attacked a UN compound in Herat in which a security guard was killed, the organization confirmed.

Diplomatic offices in Kabul, including the US, UK and Australian embassies as well as NATO’s mission and US National Security Adviser condemned the attack on the UN office.

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned the Taliban.

President Ashraf Ghani on Saturday attended a consultative meeting with prominent Afghan political and jihadi leaders, religious scholars, women, and civil society and youth representatives where they expressed their unwavering support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“These leaders also declared their full support for Afghan Security and Defense Forces in the presence of the country’s security leadership. While stressing the urgency for peace, all agreed that defending Afghanistan is our fundamental right,” Ghani said.

But the Taliban previously said that they will reduce the violence on the condition that their 7,000 prisoners are released and the names of their leaders are dropped from the UN blacklist.