HERAT CITY (SW) – Mohammad Ismail Khan, a former jihadi leader in Herat, warned the security forces on Sunday against door-to-door checking for the disarmament process.
Addressing a gathering at his residence attended by dozens of his armed supporters, Ismail Khan said the Mujahedeen are saviors of Herat, and the security forces’ move in this connection would be met with reactions.
Ismail Khan said the Mujahedeen have elders in every district, and in case of suspicious reports from security forces, they should enter the house of the Mojahedin in consultation with the elders of the Mujahedeen. Speaking in front of dozens of his armed supporters, the former jihadi leader stressed that the Mujahedeen have more support and strength than ever before. By emphasizing the unification of the Mojahedin, he vowed to have more than 500,000 troops to defend the people against any terrorist threat.
Criticizing the government for distrusting the Mujahideen, Ismail Khan added that the Taliban launch terrorist attacks in the districts every night and send reinforcements from the city. He claimed there are hundreds of armed Mujahideen in every district, and they can stand up to the Taliban if the government wants to, without sending reinforcements from the city. Criticizing the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan, Ismail Khan said that in the last 20 years, with the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan, they had achieved nothing but pushed Afghanistan into a larger war. He hoped that all American troops will leave Afghanistan so that the people of Afghanistan can rely on themselves.
Addressing the Taliban, Ismail Khan said they could not come to power by force and that they should embrace the peace process. A number of jihadi commanders at the event criticized the Dayak process and disarmament of the Mojahedin over the past several years, warning the government that the role of the Mojahedin in the western zone was not prominent in the government, and that they would not support it one day.
Today’s gathering in Herat was to mark the 28th anniversary of the occupation of city by the Mojahedin 29 years ago.
ENDS
