Afghanistan Minister of Interior General Abdul Satar Mirzakwal said that Afghan forces are focused on securing main highways, large cities, and border crossings.
Mirzakwal took charge of the country’s 130,000-strong police force five weeks ago.
He revealed Afghanistan’s “three-phase plan to push back the Taliban offensive” in an interview to Al-Jazeera.
According to him, the government was supporting local volunteer militias known as “uprising movements.”
In the last three months, the Taliban has more than doubled the territory it holds and, in the last week, has started to take provincial capitals, seizing nine by Wednesday.
The government had reportedly launched an intitiative in June that it called “National Mobilisation”, arming local volunteer groups.
“These people have announced their full support to the president and government. They will fight the Taliban along with the government forces,” Mirzakwal said.
In Wardak, community leaders from across Afghanistan queued up to pledge their support.
However Wardak’s Governor Lawang Faizan said he already has 300 men fighting in one local uprising force, but complained that he could only provide weapons for two-thirds. He cannot provide the rest with water, let alone money or arms.
