Taliban Begins Recruiting Young Men From Border Districts in Badakhshan
The Taliban administration has begun recruiting young men from the border districts of Badakhshan to join its forces, following an increase in clashes in parts of the province.
Fasihuddin Fitrat, chief of staff of the Taliban administration’s army, told Radio Hurriyat on Wednesday that the acting defence minister had decided to recruit young people from Badakhshan’s border districts, and the process has now begun.
According to him, the main focus of the programme is on districts located along the border with Pakistan. Fitrat added that after these individuals are trained, a decision will be made about where they will serve, and they may be deployed to border areas or other parts of Afghanistan.
At the same time, a statement from the recruitment and mobilization directorate of the Taliban administration’s acting defence minister said that young men from the districts of Pamir, Wakhan, Ashkasham, Zebak, and Kuran and Munjan in Badakhshan can join these forces if they meet the required conditions.
The move was announced as clashes between the Taliban administration and its armed opponents have intensified in recent weeks in parts of Badakhshan, especially in Zebak district. The Freedom Front has claimed responsibility for an attack in Zebak, near the border with Pakistan.
The Taliban administration has accused its opponents of entering Zebak district from Pakistani territory. After a visit to Zebak, Fasihuddin Fitrat also claimed that opponents of the Taliban administration received weapons and equipment in Pakistan and entered the district from there.
He also claimed that after the clash, some of these people were killed and others retreated to the Shah Sلیم area in Pakistan. Fitrat added that Pakistan wants to use these people against the Taliban administration.
The districts of Wakhan, Ashkasham and Zebak are among the border areas of Badakhshan in northeastern Afghanistan, a province that in recent months has repeatedly been the scene of clashes between the Taliban administration and its armed opponents.
