Taliban seizes Jalalabad, Kabul remains only big city under Afghan govt control

New Delhi: The Taliban has captured the city of Jalalabad, the capital of the Nangarhar province and one of the biggest cities in the country, local media reported on Sunday.

This comes barely a day after the Taliban wrested control of the fourth largest city of Afghanistan, Mazar-i-Sharif. After the fall of Jalalabad, Kabul remains the only big city under the Ashraf Ghani government, Russian news agency Sputnik reported.

A former top senior advisor of the Ashraf Ghani government confirmed the news of Jalalabad’s fall, hoping the Taliban will not harm civilians in the province.

“My birth city, Jalalabad one of the best city 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 are changed,” said M. Shafiq Hamdam, former deputy senior advisor to President Ashraf Ghani.

Earlier on Saturday, Ghani had chaired a coordination meeting with officials where he was briefed on the security of Kabul and the neighboring provinces. The meeting was attended by US Charge d’Affaires Ross Wilson and US forces commander and both vowed their support to Afghan forces, Tolo News reported.

Afghanistan is witnessing a surge in violence as the Taliban has intensified its offensive against Afghan forces and civilians with the complete pullback of foreign forces just a few weeks away.

Earlier on Saturday, Ghani 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 to bring further killings, loss of the gains of the last two decades, and continued instability.