Latest news with #AmrullahSaleh
News18
15-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
From Kabul to Kashmir: How Amrullah Saleh, The Panjshir Hero With 'Nine Lives', Is Taking On Pakistan
Last Updated: Saleh's fierce opposition to the Taliban and Pakistan's interference in Afghanistan has made him a key figure in the region's complex geopolitics Amrullah Saleh, the former vice-president of Afghanistan, has been one of the strongest voices in India's support since Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 Indian tourists in J&K's Pahalgam on April 22. His backing of India following Operation Sindoor aligns with his longstanding views — he has been a steadfast critic of the Taliban, which overran and took control of Afghanistan in 2021, and Pakistan's meddling in Afghan affairs, including Islamabad's support to the Taliban. Saleh's long-stated advocacy for India's role in countering terrorism and his criticism of Pakistan's policies provide a broader geopolitical context to the current situation. Who Is Amrullah Saleh? Saleh, who has served as Afghanistan's spy chief and interior minister, became the country's first vice-president in 2020, under president Ashraf Ghani. His tenure, however, was short-lived as the Taliban seized rapid and decisive control of Afghanistan by force on August 15, 2021, following the withdrawal of US troops. While president Ghani was forced to flee the country, Saleh stayed back and relocated to the Panjshir Valley, a historical bastion of anti-Taliban resistance. He declared himself the 'caretaker president' citing the Afghan constitution and formed the National Resistance Front (NRF) with Ahmad Massoud to oppose Taliban rule. His claim to presidency, however, lacks global recognition. Despite the resistance, the Taliban captured Panjshir in early September 2021. As per reports, Saleh had to flee to Tajikistan (he is an ethnic Tajik), but continues to support the NRF in exile. Throughout his career as a spy chief and a politician, Saleh has survived so many assassination attempts that in global circles he is known as having 'nine lives". Amrullah Saleh remains a crucial figure in the Indian subcontinent's geopolitics due to his unwavering opposition to the Taliban and his consistent criticism of Pakistan's involvement in fostering cross-border terrorism. As a former Afghan intelligence chief and vice president, Saleh has deep insight into regional security dynamics, militancy, and political influence. His close ties with India, rooted in years of strategic cooperation during the anti-Taliban resistance, position him as a natural ally to New Delhi in its regional security calculus. In exile, his voice continues to resonate in international circles advocating for democratic resilience in Afghanistan and pushing back against Pakistan's military-intelligence complex. With the intensifying India-Pakistan rivalry, Saleh's support for India following Operation Sindoor reinforces his role as a symbolic yet strategically significant player in South Asia's evolving geopolitical landscape. His background and leadership in the anti-Taliban resistance have made him a key figure in the ongoing power struggle within Afghanistan, a nation strategically vital to both India and Pakistan. Saleh's views and actions have the potential to influence regional stability, particularly regarding cross-border terrorism, the Afghan refugee crisis, and the broader dynamics between India, Pakistan, and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Saleh's Opposition To Pakistan Saleh has consistently accused Pakistan, particularly its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), of supporting the Taliban and destabilizing Afghanistan. He has stated that Pakistan seeks to exert control over Afghanistan through its proxy, the Taliban. In a 2010 briefing to then US president Barack Obama, Saleh had emphasised that 'the Pakistanis believe the West has lost" in Afghanistan and are exploiting divisions among Western allies. He has also criticized Pakistan's role in harbouring terrorist leaders, including Osama bin Laden, and has urged the international community to hold Pakistan accountable for its actions in the region. Given his staunch opposition to Pakistan, Saleh's support for India in the context of Operation Sindoor aligns with his historical stance. His backing bolsters India's position in the region and highlights the shared concerns of both nations regarding terrorism and regional stability. Saleh's Support For India Saleh was among the first regional leaders to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack and link it to Pakistan. 'It appears that the neighboring GHQ, seeking publicity and media attention, resorted to the worst way to get it," he had said on April 23, the day after the attack. — Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) April 23, 2025 In the days that followed, Saleh called out Pakistan's long-standing support to terrorism in the region, also highlighting its defence minister Khawaja Asif's admission of the same before global media. "We were contractors for dirty jobs," says Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister of Defense of the Islamic Republic of question: Has the contract been extended with a new customer, or have you renewed it with the previous one? We see no clear evidence of its termination. — Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) April 26, 2025 In a pointed comparison between India's Operation Sindoor and Pakistan's Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos, Saleh highlighted several strategic firsts in India's approach. He said India has showed newfound confidence and sovereignty, 'bypassing" the UN Security Council, treating terrorist actors and their state sponsors—particularly within Pakistan—as a single entity. He also pointed out that Pakistan had to seen IMF assistance amid the tensions, underscoring its inability to sustain prolonged conflict. Operation Sindoor vs. Operation Bunyan Ul MarsoosSome of the firsts One : Realizing the stalemated status or irrelevance of the UNSC, India didn't seek to request sympathy from the five of the 1945. Operation Sindoor clearly demonstrated a strong sense of self-confidence and… — Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) May 10, 2025 top videos View all In his latest post, Saleh said the April 22 attack tested India's restraint, provoking a robust response that shattered the illusion of Pakistan's military invulnerability, including strikes near Rawalpindi. He added that India's religious scholars issued their own fatwa, breaking Pakistan's monopoly on Islamic religious narratives. In contrast, Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos, Saleh said, appeared largely performative, with no visible impact, and the ceasefire seemed to prevent further escalation on Pakistan's side. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : Afghanistan Amrullah Saleh ISI Operation Sindoor pakistan Taliban Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: May 15, 2025, 11:03 IST News india From Kabul to Kashmir: How Amrullah Saleh, The Panjshir Hero With 'Nine Lives', Is Taking On Pakistan
News18
14-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
'Strategic Sovereignty Vs Dependency': Amrullah Saleh Decodes Op Sindoor Against Pak Offensive
Last Updated: Saleh, who had backed India's Operation Sindoor strikes last week, said India was thankful for strategic sovereignty, while Pakistan was indebted to strategic dependency. Afghanistan's Acting President-in-Exile Amrullah Saleh offered his insights into the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan, calling it a battle between strategic sovereignty and strategic dependency. Saleh, who had extended support to India's Operation Sindoor strikes last week, said, 'India is thanking its forces, its system, its economy, its people, and its leaders for engendering a new deterrence and elevating the challenge too costly for Pakistan to dare another adventure." 'Pakistan, on the other hand, is thanking ever country and organisation except India for 'defusing the tension" and ending the blackout in Pakistan. One is thankful for strategic sovereignty, and the other is indebted to strategic dependency," he added. Saleh had earlier lauded India's airstrikes targeting terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 26 tourists were killed. He called the step 'bold, unprecedented, and true to its promise, tightening the rope by nine knots." advetisement He also criticised Pakistan's Army and its proxies for having supported the Taliban for decades, saying that they were emboldened by their success in Afghanistan and decided to carry out the brutal terror attack in Pahalgam last month. 'India shredded the notion that terrorists are separate from terrorist backers and thus targeted both. The notion that certain powerful rogue officers of Pakistani State authorize terrorist attacks was also shredded. This is a new paradigm. Another type of deniability must be invented," he said in another post. He further said Pakistan's 'Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos' had failed to take off the way it was propagated and the May 10 ceasefire had actually saved Pakistan's skin. For the first time, said Saleh, India shredded the notion that terrorists are separate from terrorist backers and thus targeted both. Operation Sindoor On May 7, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, a military operation targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The operation was a response to a deadly attack on April 22, 2025, in Pahalgam in which 26 civilians, including one Nepali national, were killed. Following the successful targeting of terror hideouts under Operation Sindoor, the Pakistani Army sent drones, missiles, UAVs and engaged in cross-border shelling and firing, targeting the military and civilians alike, as they intervened to save the terrorists India targeted to avenge the Pahalgam carnage. After four days of hostilities, India and Pakistan announced reaching an understanding on May 10 to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with effect from 5 pm that day. However, the Indian government made it clear that any future attack would see a strong response on India's own terms. Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : Amrullah Saleh india pakistan conflict Operation Sindoor First Published: May 15, 2025, 00:00 IST
News18
11-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
‘Ceasefire Saved Pakistan's Skin': Amrullah Saleh On Operation Sindoor Vs Operation Bunyan-Un-Marsoos
Last Updated: For the first time, said Saleh, India shredded the notion that terrorists are separate from terrorist backers and thus targeted both Afghanistan's Acting President-in-Exile Amrullah Saleh has decoded for CNN-News18 India's Operation Sindoor vs Pakistan's Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos in the recent military confrontation between the two countries. 'Realising the stalemated status or irrelevance of the UNSC, India didn't seek to request sympathy from the 5 of 1945. Operation Sindoor clearly demonstrated a strong sense of self-confidence and real strategic autonomy and sovereignty," he said. For the first time, said Saleh, India shredded the notion that terrorists are separate from terrorist backers and thus targeted both. The notion that certain powerful rogue officers of the Pakistani State authorise terrorist attacks was also shredded, he added. 'This is a new paradigm. Another type of deniability must be invented," Saleh said. 'There was a battle going on and a war being planned. In the midst of the battle, Pakistan negotiated for a loan from the IMF, which surprisingly approved it." It matters because, most likely, Pakistan isn't fit enough to finance a war but has capabilities to engage in battles, he said. A war can't be won with IMF loans anyway, Saleh said. 'The strategic patience and cultural restraint have a limit. That limit was tested on April 22 by the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists. Perhaps they wanted what followed," said Saleh. 'They didn't benefit from their adventure, though. Perhaps they wanted to humiliate India publicly." Pakistan seems to be mentally stuck in 2008, he added. 'Size matters. Every inch of Pakistan was within reach. I always thought the Nur Khan airbase was the best-defended base in Pakistan. It isn't," he said. The garrison town of Rawalpindi is the heart of Pakistan's military, and its best-known airbase was hit, Saleh pointed out. 'Pakistan lost the monopoly over Islamic fatwa. The Indian Ulema presented a fatwa of their own to their own government," he said. 'Thus, the religious dimension always exploited by Pakistan to earn sympathy from the Muslim Ummah evaporated. Deoband is located in India, by the way." Keeping secrets in a democratic society is next to impossible, but very little leaked out of India, which shows enormous skills in adhering to principles of operational silence and public unity to assist in the safeguarding of secrets, said Saleh. 'I have seen very little or no visuals from Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos to comment on," he said. 'Seemingly, it never took off the way it was propagated. The ceasefire saved Pakistan's skin. Pakistani military leadership has made statements and claims over their own achievements, but the Indian skies remained open, flights weren't cancelled, and I haven't seen visuals of missiles landing in Delhi or Amritsar." Watch India Pakistan Breaking News on CNN-News18. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: May 11, 2025, 17:47 IST
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Pak's Op Marsoos Failed': In 7-Points, Ex-Afghan VP's BIG PRAISE For OP Sindoor; BLASTS Pak Army
/ May 11, 2025, 04:25PM IST Former Afghanistan vice president Amrullah Saleh tore into the Pakistan Army after both India and Pakistan agreed on a ceasefire following four days of tensions. In a social media post, Saleh compared India's Operation Sindoor and Pakistan's Operation Bunyan Al Marsoos, calling the former as one demonstrating a "strong sense of self-confidence".
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First Post
05-05-2025
- Politics
- First Post
India has given ‘very long rope' to Pakistan, should use ‘electric chair for execution': Former Afghan VP
Terrorists struck Baisaran, a prime tourist location, in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on April 22, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists, and injuring several others read more The former Vice President of Afghanistan, Amrullah Saleh, has responded to the terrorist incident in Pahalgam. Saleh said on X that 'India has placed a very long rope around its enemy's neck instead of using an electric chair for execution.' It seems ... India has placed a very long rope around its enemy's neck instead of using an electric chair for execution. — Amrullah Saleh (@AmrullahSaleh2) May 4, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Terrorists struck Baisaran, a prime tourist location, in Pahalgam in south Kashmir on April 22, killing at least 26 people, mostly tourists, and injuring several others. Since the assault, there has been a lot of tension between India and Pakistan, with India promising to take tough measures against terrorism. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken out strongly against terrorism. His assertion on strongly dealing with terrorism came even as India announced fresh punitive measures against Pakistan including complete ban on imports from Pakistan, suspension of all postal services from that country and banning entry of Pakistani-flagged ships at Indian ports. At the same time, Pakistan remains on high alert.
