PESHAWAR: On the invitation of the Taliban Shura, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt. General Faiz Hameed arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning with a delegation of senior Pakistani officials.
Senior anchorperson Kamran Khan in a twitter post said, “ISI Chief Lt Gen Faiz Hamid, leading a delegation of senior Pakistani officials, has arrived in Kabul. Gen Faiz is highest ranking foreign official to reach Kabul on invitation of Taliban Shura.” Khan said that during his meetings with the Taliban leadership, he will discuss issues relating to the future of Pakistan-Taliban security and trade ties. General Faiz is accompanied by Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan.
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This is the first high-ranking foreign official to visit the Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of Kabul. The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the BBC that the Pakistani side had contacted the Taliban’s political office in Qatar for the ISI chief visit to Kabul. Mr Mujahid said that during the visit, both sides will discuss the reconstruction of airports, the problems of Afghan refugees on the Pak-Afghan border and other issues.
Some journalists at the Serena Hotel in Kabul questioned Pakistan’s military intelligence chief about his trip. General Hamid said in response to a reporter’s question that he was working for peace and stability in Afghanistan and visiting Kabul for this purpose.
Meanwhile, Fierce war continues in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley [the last stronghold of resistance against the Taliban]. Taliban sources told Reuters that they had captured Panjshir, but the resistance coalition denied the claim. Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of the resistance coalition, rejected claims that he had fled the Panjshir valley.
Though media has no access to the area, however, sources have reported that that hundreds of fighters have been killed on both sides since the start of the Taliban efforts to capture the valley. The Panjshir Valley is one of Afghanistan’s smallest provinces north of the capital, Kabul, and is the only province that has not yet fallen to the Taliban. The anti-Taliban valley, surrounded by mountains, is populated by up to 200,000 people.
The resistance coalition, which includes former members of the Afghan security forces and local militias, is led by local leader Ahmad Massoud. His father successfully fought the Soviets in the 1980s and the Taliban in the 1990s. On Saturday morning, Massoud said the people of the province were fighting hard against the Taliban and are not ready to withdraw from their legitimate rights and demands.