Russian Embassy in Kabul has no confirmation of the fighting in Panjshir yet

18 August 2021


The Russian embassy in Kabul has no confirmation of the media reports about the fighting in Afghan province Panjshir between the Taliban units (banned in Russia) and supporters of the former government of the country, Dmitry Zhirnov, head of the Russian diplomatic mission, said on the air of the Channel One Russia on Wednesday.


"Those shards of power who, in particular, fled to Panjsher, if they were sheltered there, is one thing. But on the whole, the regime of [outgoing Afghan President Ashraf] Ghani not only did not enjoy any support, it was hated by ordinary people, percent of the population, who lived and still live in complete poverty, in complete lawlessness," Zhirnov said.


"As far as I know, the Taliban are simply setting up cordons now, <...> not to create additional unrest. At the moment I have no information that the Taliban are taking any violent action against Panjshir or even against those armed people," the diplomat added.


Earlier, the pro-Iranian Alam TV channel broadcasting from Beirut reported that troops loyal to former Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh were fighting with Taliban militias in Panjshir, north of Kabul.


Situation in Kabul


Zhirnov said the situation in Kabul is stabilizing and life in the city is getting back to normal. "Life is getting back to normal now. On the 15th it was a bit difficult - complete anarchy <...>," he said.


"We have different plans, we're prepared for different options, but we're realists. We act according to the circumstances, according to what we have now," the ambassador said, responding to a question about whether the diplomatic mission had a "plan B" if the situation in the Afghan capital suddenly worsened. "Broadly speaking, we are not drawing any conclusions [about the situation in Kabul]. It's too early," Zhirnov added.


"Examination" of maintaining security in Kabul


The Taliban have so far passed their first security test in Kabul since coming to power, Zhirnov said.


"They [the Taliban] passed the first exam. It's the first days in Kabul, the security of Kabul. I'm ready to give them a pass, if I had the right to do so," the diplomat said. Zhirnov noted that since May 2020, when he arrived in the Afghan capital, it was "the first time there had been no shooting in the city for three days in a row". He stressed that so far such assessments can be made based on the actions of the Taliban exclusively in the first days of their stay in Kabul.


"When Afghan President [Ashraf] Ghani was here, there were four or five claps a day: terrorist attacks, mine explosions and so on. On the first of December, our car blew up on a mine, the terrorists blew it up. The Taliban came and from the first night, that was it," the ambassador said. Immediately after Ghani's fleeing from Kabul on August 15, he said, the city was in "complete chaos" with incidents of looting and rioting on the roads. However, all this stopped later that night, when the Taliban took control of the Afghan capital.


Nevertheless, Zhirnov suggested not rush to assess whether the Taliban have changed. "This is to the question of their scorecard: these are the next exams they will have to pass. If they pass them in a civilized, peaceful, bloodless manner, if they show the people that they guarantee order, that they guarantee social justice, then they will get second credit. If not, it means there will be something wrong, there will be an expulsion," concluded the diplomat.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

Photo: Creative Commons

Based on materials from TASS