In new twist to Afghanistan crisis, former vice president Amrullah Saleh says he will never bow to Taliban

Amrullah Saleh’s tweet came at a time when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left Kabul to avoid bloodshed. Taliban, which has seized control of major Afghan provincial capitals, including Kabul, is currently negotiating a peaceful transfer of power with the outgoing Afghan government to the new regime.

File Image of former Afghan vice president Amrullah Saleh

KABUL: Adding a new twist to the current turmoil in Afghanistan, the former vice president of the war-ravaged nation, Amrullah Saleh has said that he will never ever bow to the Taliban.

Saleh took to Twitter and said, "I will never, ever & under no circumstances bow to d Talib terrorists. I will never betray d soul & legacy of my hero Ahmad Shah Masoud, the commander, the legend & the guide. I won't disappoint millions who listened to me. I will never be under one ceiling with Taliban. NEVER."

I will never, ever & under no circumstances bow to d Talib terrorists. I will never betray d soul & legacy of my hero Ahmad Shah Masoud, the commander, the legend & the guide. I won't dis-appoint millions who listened to me. I will never be under one ceiling with Taliban. NEVER.

— Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) August 15, 2021

Saleh’s tweet came at a time when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani left Kabul to avoid bloodshed. Taliban, which has seized control of major Afghan provincial capitals, including Kabul, is currently negotiating a peaceful transfer of power with the outgoing Afghan government.

Reports say that former interior minister Ali Ahmad Jalali is most likely to replace Ghani as the interim head of the government. As per reports, the two sides are holding talks in Kabul to expand a future Afghan government beyond only Taliban members.

Officials close to the discussions said on Tuesday that they are hoping for ‘some good news’ within a day or two. They spoke on condition of anonymity because until now no one wanted details of negotiations released to the media.

Senior Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi has already held several rounds of talks with Kabul's political leadership, including Abdullah Abdullah, who once headed the country's negotiating council and former president Hamid Karzai.

At least one round of the talks went through the night. The discussion appeared to focus on how a Taliban-dominated government would respond to rights gained over the last 20 years.

The announcements of a ''general amnesty'' and urging women to return to work appeared to indicate progress may have been made. 

Muttaqi, a former higher education minister when the Taliban last ruled, began making contacts with Afghan political leaders even before President Ashraf Ghani secretly slipped away from the Presidential Palace on the weekend. 

Ghani's departure left a devastating vacuum that Taliban who were surrounding the city strode in to fill. Muttaqi had reached out to US-allied warlords prior to Kabul's collapse seemingly starting the process of greater inclusivity in their government.

The talks underway are aimed at bringing other non-Taliban leaders into the government, which Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen earlier said would be an ‘inclusive Afghan government.’

Shaheen further said that a new Taliban government will be announced after negotiations are over.