Criminal regime militias

By: Muhammad Jalal

After the tactical retreat of forces of the Islamic Emirate in the beginning of American-led invasion of Afghanistan, regime forces were slowly trained and formed under the complete control and guidance of the invaders. The tremendous battlefield victories of the Islamic Emirate sent shockwaves across the country and locals in thousands joined the ranks of Mujahideen. With the invaders losing the battle of hearts and minds and failing to garner support for their actions, the morale of the regime forces also began eroding and everything seemed on the brink, forcing the enemy to adopt new tactics and campaigns of terror and subjugation in Afghanistan.

Under the name of local uprisings, tens of notorious warlords involved in crimes against humanity were armed and funded across Afghanistan under the name ‘Local Police’. Several on-the-record reports and official statements of the regime members show that all this was done to buttress the regime forces who were loosing members and territory at unsustainable rate. Out of all these local forces and militias created, one such criminal group by the name of Khost Protection Force or KPF is directly under the supervision of the top leadership of the regime and still carrying out sadistic brutalities in Khost and adjacent provinces.

KPF is above the so-called laws of the regime and the killings of Afghans are done without any accountability. This group is widely implicated in killings of hundreds of innocent civilians throughout these years of American occupation of Afghanistan. KPF is known for committing summary executions and other grave abuses like massacring civilians during night raids, forcibly disappearing detainees, and attacking healthcare facilities. The community elders, health workers, and others common people of Afghanistan have countless of times described abusive raids as having become a daily fact of life for many communities, which is having a devastating impact on locals physically, emotionally and economically.

As the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is engaged in intra Afghan negotiations, the use of such forces goes against the spirit of peace talks. If the regime and their backers are sincere and genuinely committed to peace talks, then these kinds of militias should be disbanded and disarmed immediately. These forces have not harmed the Mujahideen but only terrorized innocent villages and hamlets in Afghanistan. In the last 48 hours, this KPF militia has murdered 9 innocent civilians including a woman in different parts of Khost province.

As every action has an equal and opposite reaction, the forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the innocent people of Afghanistan and strive to free them from the oppression. The Kabul administration and its supporters must understand that the indomitable Afghans can never be subdued through violence and brutalities.