KABUL: Taliban fighters in Afghanistan said on Wednesday they took control of one of the main border crossings with Pakistan, perhaps the most strategic goal they arrested so far in rapid progress throughout the country when US troops pulled out.
A Pakistani official said the fighters had lowered the Afghan government flag from the gate of friendship on the border crossing between the cities of Pakistan Chaman and the City of Wesh Afghanistan.
The intersection, south of the main southern city of Afghanistan Kandahar, is the busiest busiest entry point of the two confined countries and the main link between the broad southwest port and Pakistan port.
Afghanistan government data shows it is used by 900 trucks a day.
The takeover forced Pakistan to close his border part with Afghanistan after a heavy battle between the Taliban and Afghan forces around Wesh.
Afghan officials said government forces had pushed the Taliban fighters and controlled the Bordak spin border district in Kandahar Province.
But officials of civilians and Pakistan said the Taliban controlled Wesh’s border post.
“Wesh, which is very important in Afghan trading with Pakistan and other countries, has been captured by the Taliban,” said Pakistan security officials deployed in the border area.
Officials in Chaman said the Taliban had suspended all trips through the gate.
“Mujahideen has captured an important border city called Wesh,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Taliban, struggling to expel foreign forces and defeat US-backed government in Kabul since being overthrown in 2001, has been in the past few days confiscating other big border crossings, in Herat Province, Farah and Kunduz in the north and west.
Border post control allows the Taliban to collect income, said Shafiqullah Attai, Chair of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Investment in the Capital, Kabul.
“Income has begun going to the Taliban,” Attai told Reuters, even though he could not say how much they had income.
President Ashraf Ghani traveled to the North Province of Balkh on Tuesday to assess security after the Taliban encouraged government forces from several districts there.
Ghani, 72, met civilians and convinced them that “Taliban’s backbone will be damaged” and government forces will soon reclaim all the losing regions of militants, Tolo news networks report.
‘Making fear’ separately, Vice President, Amrullah Saleh, said on Twitter that the Taliban forced ethnic minority members to convert to Islam or leave their homes in the North Province of Badakhshan.
“This is a kerghiz minority who lives there for centuries …
they are now in Tajikistan waiting for their fate,” he said.
A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available to comment but the United Nations mission in Afghanistan said that it was increasingly worried about reports of rights violations as the spread of battles.
“Reports of murder, poor treatment, persecution and discrimination are widespread and disturbing, creating fear and insecurity,” said the mission in a statement.
Afghan education, especially women and women who are prohibited from schools and most of them work under the Taliban, have stated alarms on their rapid progress, such as having ethnic and sectarian minority members persecuted under their severe interpretation of Sunni Islam.
Taliban spokesman rejected the allegations that they abused their rights, and said they would not persecute women if they returned to power.
“The best way to end losses for civilians is for peace talks to be refreshed so that the settlement is negotiated to be contacted,” said the UN mission.
The Taliban made a commitment to negotiate with their Afghan rivals as part of an agreement where the United States offered to attract its troops.
But a little progress has been made towards a ceasefire in several rounds of talks in Qatar.
Senior politicians from Kabul were preparing to go to Qatar for more talks this month because Western diplomats urged the rival side to work towards a sharing agreement.
Afghanistan Taliban seizes the border junction with Pakistan in great progress
