Taliban emir seeks to reassure residents of Kunduz

Shortly after the provincial capital of Kunduz city fell to the Taliban earlier today, the jihadist group’s emir, Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour, issued a statement that urged residents not to worry and to cooperate with the city’s new masters. The statement, reproduced below, consists of five main points:

1) The Taliban has a responsibility to provide security.
2) Citizens of Kunduz should not fear executions, looting, etc.
3) Professionals and laborers should return to work without fear of insecurity.
4) The Taliban has no intentions of retaliating against members of the security forces or the government.
5) The Afghan government should stop blaming its defeats on “outside intelligence agencies,” a clear reference to Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate.

In addition to Mansour’s statement, the Taliban’s “Commission for Control and Administration of NGOs and Companies” issued a directive calling for non-governmental organizations and businesses “to continue their work normally” (the short statement is reproduced in full below).

The Taliban’s statements as well as its speedy offensive indicate that the effort to take Kunduz city was planned and coordinated in advance at the Taliban’s highest levels. Additionally, Mansour, by seizing the first major Afghan city since the US invaded in 2001, is showing that he can be a strong and effect political leader. And Sirajuddin Haqqani, the deputy emir and top military commander who has been a thorn in the side of the US, is proving he can successfully coordinate multiple offensives in separate theaters.

Statement by the Leader of Islamic Emirate concerning liberation of Kunduz city

All praise is due to Allah and it is due to His boundless mercy and help that a key provincial capital in northern Afghanistan, Kunduz, has finally fallen to the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate as the first provincial capital to do so, and all praise belong solely to Allah.

The leader of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan congratulates Mujahideen and all the Mujahid nation on the occasion of this immense conquest and asks them to celebrate this victory with the remembrance of Allah and praising Him abundantly with prayers of thanks.

The Islamic Emirate deems it necessary to point to and give serious consideration to a few key topics on the blessed occasion of this event in Kunduz:

1. Mujahideen should give all of their attention to safeguarding the lives, property and honor of the respected citizens of the city of Kunduz after ending combat operations and securing their military objectives. Mujahideen must be vigilant and prevent elements which misuse such occasions in order to loot and plunder or harm the lives and property of locals or the shared Bait-ul-Maal (public property).

2. The citizens of Kunduz city should be aware that the Islamic Emirate has no intention of transgressing against their personal property, carrying out extrajudicial killings, looting or breaching the inviolability of homes rather it seeks to prevent such happenings. Whoever exploits such military situations to perpetrate such crimes are not Mujahideen. All citizens must aid the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate in preventing such actions from happening and help them in identifying and detaining all perpetrators.

3. The citizens of Kunduz should not worry about safeguarding their lives and properties. Carry out your ordinary livelihoods in absolute security. All traders, workers, staff of hospitals, municipality and governing bodies should continue their daily routines without any fear or intimidation. Mujahideen are their brothers and are committed to securing their lives and property. Mujahideen are not thinking of harassing or deriding anyone but have intentions of respecting and bringing serenity to their lives.

4. Our message to government officials and security personnel who are thinking about resistance or are hiding in fear of retribution is that they should abandon all negative thoughts spread about Mujahideen due to enemy propaganda.

Mujahideen are not thinking about retribution but have come with a message of peace. Mujahideen were against such people due to them standing and carrying out duties in the ranks of the invaders and its stooge regime. If they regret their former actions and renounce links with the opposition then the gates of forgiveness of the Islamic Emirate are open upon them. They can confidently establish links with the Mujahideen by utilizing the Dawat wal Irshad (Call and Guidance) program, thus securing their lives and properties.

5. These conquests are due to the help of Almighty Allah and sacrifices of this Mujahid nation therefore the Kabul regime should openly admit its defeat, stop linking the victories of the Mujahideen to outside intelligence agencies and must not avenge their setbacks with blind bombardments and shelling of innocent people. They should accept the progress of Mujahideen as a bitter reality and think about their future and the future of the entire country in a cool composed manner. The time has now passed where big talks of Dostum, shrewd promises of Ashraf Ghani and baseless propaganda of the west would confuse common thought.

Statement by Commission for Control and Administration of NGOs and Companies

We declare to all the workers of NGOs, private companies and Telecommunication Networks to continue their work normally. If they do somehow face any problems then they should forward their complaints to the Commission for Control and Administration of NGOs and Companies of the Islamic Emirate by contacting the numbers provided below so that their problems are resolved quickly and all real hurdles preventing them from carrying out their normal duties removed.

Wasalam

Contact numbers:

Main Branch: 0702470267

Kunduz Branch: 0786231649

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

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