Brothers on opposing fronts say tired of fighting

MAIMANA (Pajhwok): Two brothers who are fighting on opposing fronts — one in Taliban ranks and another in Afghan government—say they are tired of fighting and are thirsty for peace like any other Afghan.

One brother is fighting to capture Maimana City, the capital of northwestern Faryab province, and another is defending the city and both believe fighting is not the way forward and stress on a negotiated settlement.

The two brothers Ahmad Shah known as Malang in the government rank and Mohammad Sharif known as Ajmal is one of the Taliban group leaders who view each other as enemies but both stress on a political settlement of the conflict.

They are the sons of former Jamiat-e-Islami Afghanistan Commander Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Pahlawan who worked for Atta Mohammad Noor and died of cancer lately.

Ahmad Shah: elder, youth everyone is thirsty for peace in the country

Ahmad Shah known as Malang, who serves in the government, termed the Taliban and his brother as stooge and enemy of this country and its people.

Ahmad Shah currently serves as director counternarcotics for Faryab province. He during an exclusive chat with Pajhwok Afghan News said: “I acknowledge that Ajmal is my brother, but he doesn’t share my ideology. I fight for this country, democracy and its people and will never allow Taliban or Ajmal to rule over Maimana.”

Referring to how his brother joined the Taliban, he said: “A clash erupted between Nizamuddin Qaisari’s fighters and supporters of Junbish political party. They attacked us, I was lucky to be evacuated to Mazar-i-Sharif by helicopter but government did not stop Qaisari from his military aggression or to support Ajmal thus he submitted to the Taliban and impressed by their thoughts and way of life.”

He dubbed the Taliban and his brother as the slaves of Pakistan and added they are fighting people who are all Muslims.

Malang who is tired of fighting said the Taliban and his brother stressed on ending the ongoing fighting and said: “Old, youth every one of us are tired of fighting and want peace to be established in the country.”

He termed the unification of his brother with government as vital for the security of first Police District of Maimana and said: “I often request him to renounce the Taliban ongoing fighting and unite with us and I will personally welcome him and will kiss his beard.”

Malang who believed that fighting was not part of solution to the ongoing Afghanistan conundrum stressed over the negotiated settlement of the conflict and added: “People were hopeful for a positive outcome of talks but after months the talks yield no result.”

He asked the Taliban and government to start meaningful negotiation and ensure that fighting come to an end in this country.

Ajmal: Thirsty for peace like any other Afghan

Mohammad Sharif known as Ajmal, one of the Taliban’s group leaders, said he has been arrested two times.

He said for the first time he was arrested back 1994 after the fall of Herat province into the hands of Taliban and he was sent to Kandahar jail and remained in the jail for two years. For the second time he said he was arrested in 2012 when a border policeman Samaruddin killed two US forces in Maimana City. Samaruddin sought refuge in his house thus he was also arrested.

“It was a midnight when US forces besieged my house they killed Samaruddin and arrested me and took me to Bagram Jail,” he said.

He said: “In 2017 when Qaisari’s son, Gen. Dostum’s special representative in local uprising affairs, was killed near our house and Qaisari accused our two brothers of the murder of his son.”

He said that after the incident, NizamuddinQaisari who was supported by hundreds of armed men, stormed security posts and the house of Ajmal Kohi and Ahamd Shah Malang and besieged KohiKhana area.

“After the arrival of a delegation from Kabul which was headed by Gen. Baba Jan, to Maimana city, I transferred my brother, Ahmad Shah Malang in a helicopter to Mazar-i-Sharif and I was obliged to flee to an area of Jamiat-i-Islami in Almar district and then join the Taliban along with a Humvee tank and three other vehicles,” he said.

About his union with the Taliban, he said, “It was March 2012 when a border soldier named Samaruddin killed two American soldiers. The soldier came to my house in Maimana so I help him get out of the city, it was midnight when Americans raided my house, they killed Samaruddin and took me to Bagram, I was under torture for four and half years, I developed an intense hate against the Americans and the government so that I wanted to wear a suicide vest against them.”

“When I was freed from Bagram Jail, I returned to my hometown, I sold a large part of land I inherited from my father, I bought weapons and armed over 30 men for the security of my tribe and region, I also encouraged 20 other men to join border forces as infiltrators so I would be able to take control of the border battalion, but the case of NizamuddinQaisari was an excuse I joined the Taliban along with my 33 armed men, I had interest with the Taliban from the past,” he added.

He termed fighting against his brother and people as Jihad and said, “For Jihad and the holy dream I have, I will fight not only my brother, Ahmad Shah Malang, but I would even have fought my father if he was alive.”

He did not want to talk more but said that he also like other Afghans was thirsty for peace and was tired of war.

Negotiations and understanding is the only way to put end to homicide: Faryab people

Faryab people say that the story of Ahmad Shah Malang and Kohi was a small example of the general situation of Afghanistan. They say that a brother was killing another brother in the ongoing war which they added has lost meaning.

Sakhidad, a resident of Maimana city, capital of Faryab, about the hostility of the two brothers, said that four decades of conflict in the country had turned one brother to stand against another.

Those who are with the government and those with the Taliban are brothers; but the war has made them to kill each other, he said.

Addressing the government and Taliban, he said, “We want both sides to hug each other, accept each other and end the war because all the people of Afghanistan are Muslims and brothers, all should struggle as brothers for the development of the country, not for its destruction.”

Meanwhile, SayedZainuddinAbedi, head of Faryab Civil Society Institutes’ Network said that foreign interferences, internal political differences and presence of mafia groups were the factors that prolonged the Afghan war to almost half a century in which Afghans killed each other.

Continuation of war caused brothers to kill each other, divide families and destroy them, he said, adding that all the current situation was due to lack of people’s awareness.

About the confrontation of Kohi and Malang, he said that both the men were influential figures in their tribe and they should give up their hostilities for God sake, for religion, country and their people. He said that there were no any foreign offices in Faryab and continuation of Jihad had no any justification.

An influential individual in Faryab who wished not to be named said that those who had taken up arms only thought about their personal interests and were unconcerned about religion, country and people.

“If it is not true why the two brothers took weapons and stood against the tribe and they started the fire of war in the region for their own interests,” he said.

He said that the war which continued for over four decades was not in the interests of anyone and only enemies of Afghanistan took advantage of the situation.

The man asked all the people to get united for a peaceful Afghanistan and do not allow the Afghan people to be defamed in the world.

Nh/mds/ma