Women puts up mega challenge to Taliban

Nari Shakti in Afghan conflict: Women throw mega challenge to Taliban

New Delhi: Unusual things can still happen around. Where 'men' seem to have lost, there begins the story of valiant Afghan women.

Just when the world media and supposed 'super powers' sheepishly gave in, presuming that the Taliban is in the driving seat in Afghanistan and its harsh policies looked imminent, the Afghan women have proved they can fight back.

Displaying the women folk's outrage and throwing a mega public challenge to Taliban rule, women in Herat and Kabul staged protests and their demand being - inclusion in the new government.

The women have been already put indoors. In implementing their interpretation ofthe Islamic Sharia law, the insurgents have signaled that women would not bepart of the cabinet.

Sharia is a religious law forming part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the hadith.

For public consumption, the militant group are now engaged in 'discussions' among themselvesand possibly some stakeholders in Pakistan about forming the new dispensation.

Pakistani spy agency ISI chief  Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has already landed in Kabul.

For the last fortnight, most Afghans have apparently given up. Some families got busy spending whatever money they had for buying all-covering burqas for female relatives.

Some Afghan women have been thrown out of the workplace and are staying home.

But the protests by a handful of women in Kabul and Herat have their significance as the narrative that local people have 'consented' for the departure of an elected government headed by Ashraf Ghaninow stands challenged.

Of course, the brave women of Afghanistan still have a long way to go.

"The gathering was relatively small -- video of the scene live streamed by the group showed just a few dozen demonstrators," said a CNN report on the protest in Kabul. 

The group called the Women's Political Participation Network marched on the street in front of Afghanistan's Finance Ministry, chanting slogans.

"Footage showed a brief confrontation between a Taliban guard and some of the women, and a man's voice could be heard saying, "Go away!" before chanting resumed," the CNN report said.

Amjad Ayub Mirza, an exiled PoJK activist who lives in Glasgow, said the protest by women is significant.

He also said another significant protest or resistance is happening at Panjshir.

The fate of Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley reportedly hangs in the balance as the 'resistance'is still on.The vice president of the ousted regime, Amrullah Saleh has denied that he has fled the country. 

Commander of the anti-Taliban resistance forces in Panjshir, Ahmad Shah Masoud, has also vowed to 'save' the valley from the potent insurgent group.

Things definitely stand in favour of the Taliban, perhaps more so due to Pakistani complicity, butas the Indian government has suggested these are still early days.

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Iran throws a spanner, calls for urgent elections in Afghanistan

New Delhi: 

In what can be seen as a minor setback to the incoming Taliban regime, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said that his country would support a government 
"elected by the Afghan people".

“A government should be established there which is elected by the votes and the 
will of the people....The Islamic Republic (Iran) has always sought peace and calm in Afghanistan, and an end to bloodshed and fratricide, and the sovereignty of the people’s will" he told the state TV.

Does Afghan 'old flag' have a future 

"We support a government elected by the Afghan people,” Raisi said.

Iran is a well known Shia powerhouse and Taliban – a monopoly of Sunnis.

In the 1990s and later, the Taliban dispensation faced problems from Iran when the latter helped the US forces to ‘topple’ the militants in 2001.

Iran has a track record of mobilizing Shia communities throughout the Middle East for the protection of the Assad regime. 

In the past too, the Iranian security agencies have recruited a large number of Afghan and Pakistani Shias to fight in Syria.

In July when China hosted a delegation from Taliban group, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, had told a television channel: No one (including countries such as Iran) has an interest in a military takeover of the country by the Taliban, the restoration of an Islamic emirate".

Iran of course has serious and multiple issues with the United States.

It is also worth mentioning that Iran has considerable influence on regional Taliban leaders along the borders.

India has always maintained a cordial relationship with Iran.

In the past, Iran along with Afghanistan, India and Russia had backed the move to create a framework which would ‘collectively censure’ countries that support terror groups. 

600 Taliban killed:

Meanwhile, Panjshir resistance force spokesperson Fahim Dashti said: "About 600 Taliban have been liquidated in various districts of Panjshir ....More than 1,000 Taliban have been captured or surrendered themselves". 

The vice president of the ousted regime, Amrullah Saleh has denied that he has fled the country.

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