Hyderabad: The Taliban has taken control of another big city, Jalalabad, the capital of the Nangarhar province, local media reported on Sunday. A former senior advisor of the embattled Afghan government has confirmed this. The development comes barely a day after the terror outfit had claimed control of the fourth largest city Mazar-i-Sharif. With Jalalabad having fallen into the hands of the dreaded outfit, Kabul remains the only major city under the Ashraf Ghani government.
"My birth city Jalalabad, one of the best cities in the world, also collapsed into the hand of the Taliban. Business is as usual, and I hope the Taliban do not harm civilians in the province. God and the world are watching them, and they have to prove that they have changed," said M. Shafiq Hamdam, former deputy senior advisor to President Ashraf Ghani.
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On Saturday, the Afghan President had chaired a meeting with officials wherein he was briefed about the security situation in Kabul and its neighbouring provinces, a local news media reported. That US' Charge d'Affaires Ross Wilson and US forces commander, who attended the meeting, vowed their complete support to Afghan forces.
Afghanistan is witnessing an increase in violence as the Taliban has intensified its offensive against government forces and civilians ever since the United States decided to withdraw troops from the war-torn nation, thereby effectively. It is known that in the past two decades, the U.S. and the NATO forces were supporting the Afghan security forces.
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On Saturday, President Ashraf Ghani had reassured citizens that his government will prevent further violence and displacement of the people and ensure that stability is maintained. "Under the current situation, remobilizing the Afghan security and defence forces is our top priority," he said. He further said he will not allow 'the imposed war' on Afghans that would lead to further killings.
