Mohammad Mohaqiq, Political And Security Advisor To The President Of Afghanistan: The Taliban Does Not Want Peace In Afghanistan – It Wants To Control The Country Through War

Political and security advisor to the President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Mohaqiq, said that the Doha peace negotiations have not yielded anything, and that the Taliban does not want peace in Afghanistan. He made these remarks in an interview that aired on Mayadeen TV (Lebanon) on August 1, 2021. Mohaqiq added that the Taliban wants to control Afghanistan through war and military rule. He said that Afghanistan already has an internal war, and it has now grown wider. Mohaqiq further said that the Afghan forces were not ready to face the challenges following the recent American withdrawal from the region and that they did not know about the withdrawal in advance.

Interviewer: "The security vacuum that was created, and the quick collapse in the ranks of the Afghan forces in some areas... I am talking about northern Afghanistan. Did the security vacuum and the quick collapse result from the irresponsible withdrawal of the American forces?"

Mohammad Mohaqiq: "Yes, the [security] vacuum and the collapse that you are talking about resulted from the sudden withdrawal of the American forces. The Afghan forces were not ready to face the challenges that arose, and did not know that the Americans were about t withdraw in such a surprising manner. "

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Interviewer: "Now that some prominent people and some former leaders are taking up arms once again in order to protect their areas – aren’t you afraid of a new civil war?"

Mohaqiq: "There already is an internal war [in Afghanistan]. We cannot say that we are afraid of it, since it is already going on. It is true that the Taliban received external support, but it is an Afghan movement. We can say that an internal war is raging today. In the past, other forces participated in the fighting. Now, there are popular forces that are fighting alongside the government, alongside the army, and alongside the police. This has caused a further expansion of the war. We already had an internal war, but now it has grown wider. "

Interviewer: "Regarding the peace process and the negotiations in Doha, where do these efforts stand right now? "

Mohaqiq: "The negotiations that have been taking place in Doha for the past 10 months, did not yield any result. The Taliban does not want peace in Afghanistan. The Taliban wants to occupy Afghanistan, and to control the country through war and military domination."