Afghanistan: Taliban kill Gov. spokesperson; capture provincial capital

The Taliban assassinated Afghan Government media center’s director in Kabul on Friday.

Dawa Khan Menapal was shot in his car while he was leaving a mosque, Taliban claimed to have “punished [him] for his deeds.”

The Afghan Government officials called the attack cowardly and US Chargé d’affaires said he was “saddened and disgusted” by the assassination.

This is one of the few high-profile cases that are reported, there are countless others which are an every day matter for those living in Afghanistan amid the Taliban’s growing control over the country that is heading towards another endless civil war.

On Friday, the Taliban also captured their first provincial capital since the launch of their sweeping offensive after the beginning of the US, NATO troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Afghan government forces who are backed by the West and majority of the World are facing an even tougher situation now as their rule may come to an end in a forceful manner.

UN special envoy to Afghanistan, Deborah Lyons, said more than 1000 civilians were killed in July That number seems far-off from the actual number of unreported deaths.

“Whatever happens on the battlefield, whether the Taliban take additional cities or whether the Government regains districts, the result will only prolong Afghanistan’s agony,” she reported while concluding a briefing.

With each passing day, the situation in Afghanistan is worsening and no one really knows just how cruel the Taliban are this time, the evidence that has come out only shows a bleak picture of what they are actually doing in there.

A lot of pictures appeared on social media with people looting Government buildings after the Taliban had claimed victory, Zaranj being a trading hub, near the border with Iran and also having its own airport had the Taliban pose and share pictures of while they were inside.

The local government has accused the central government for abandoning Zaranj, with one official claiming it fell without a fight and they needed reinforcements from the Ghani Administration.

The official further stated that the city was under threat for a while and the Afghan Government just didn’t listen.

While the US and Afghan forces have launched airstrikes in Lashkar Gah and the Afghan troops have vowed not to let the major city fall, chances for its survival look slim as the city will soon turn into a ghost town even if the Afghan army succeeds in defending it.

Same is the case with other major cities like Herat and Kandahar, people are fleeing either way as it doesn’t matter if the Afghan forces launch offensives or the Taliban attack, in the end the civilians lose their homes and their families.

With the Taliban having the major cities surrounded and the Afghan army’s inability to succeed in counter-offensives, people are fleeing the major cities towards the outer regions or the borders with neighboring countries.

Another major challenge for the civilians is the looming crisis over the trade and shipping routes which bring the basic supplies to the major cities. Since the Taliban have control of most of the routes that reach major cities, they can seize the routes and create a blockade at any time, initiating a humanitarian crisis.

If things come at a standstill or the Taliban announce a temporary ceasefire then they can enforce the taxes at various major checkpoints that bring basic supplies to the ordinary Afghan living in cities under the government’s control.

Their control of Zaranj has sent shockwaves and now investments in Iran to the Chahbahar port are also under threat as one of the routes were to pierce through Zaranj and go towards central Asia.

It will be interesting to see how Iran’s new President and his Administration play to this development, whether they come to an agreement with the Taliban or pick a more neutral approach till things take shape in Afghanistan.

The United States’ withdrawal has pushed all these countries on high-alert. So many of them saw the United States as an enemy but were in fact protected by the US’s presence in Afghanistan.

The civil war that is looming around the corner in Afghanistan had always been there but stopped by the presence of the US and NATO forces who were always used as scapegoats for the failures of others.

The region is now evolving once again and it will be interesting to see how the Taliban, if they come to power, keep relations with Afghanistan’s neighbors and the entire World. But no matter how they come, blood will spill and the Taliban would break into groups, consequentially beginning the civil war everyone is fearing and trying to avoid.