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Slamming the narrative that the Taliban has moderated its behaviour, Afghanistan&rsquo;s President Ashraf Ghani has asserted that the extremist group has regressed in the past two decades and its behaviour has worsened.</p>
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Ghani asserted during a cabinet meeting on Sunday that the extremist group has become &quot;more cruel and more oppressive.&quot; It was also not interested in talks without changing the facts on the ground through a military offensive that was likely to last till winter.</p>
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&quot;Yes, they (Taliban) have changed but negatively. They have no wish for peace, for prosperity, or progress,&rdquo; he observed.</p>
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Ghani&rsquo;s observations come at a time when graphic videos have appeared of Taliban snatching wailing young women from their families and gruesome chopping of hands in public of alleged criminals.</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/with-air-power-and-help-from-warlord-afghan-forces-beat-back-taliban-offensive-in-herat-105991.html">With air power and help from warlord Afghan forces beat back Taliban offensive in Herat</a></p>
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The Afghan President stressed that &ldquo; we want peace but they want surrender (subdued people and government).&quot;</p>
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Ghani&nbsp; therefore asserted that Afghanistan had no choice but to go in for a &ldquo;countrywide mobilization&rdquo; to counter the Taliban onslaught.</p>
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&quot;They will not engage in meaningful negotiations unless the situation changes on the battlefield; therefore, we should have a clear stance. For this, there is a need for a countrywide mobilization,&quot;&nbsp; said a defiant Ghani.</p>
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Ghani pointed out that the Taliban was creating conditions that would result in an influx of foreign terroir, recreating a condition that emerged after the groups takeover of Afghanistan in 1996. Eventually the Taliban was ousted following the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers in New York by Al Qaeda which had taken sanctuary in the country. Already the Islamic State has taken route in Afghanistan ,setting a precedent for other groups to follow.</p>
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Ghani&#39;s remarks coincide with the report released by the Afghan watchdog which revealed that&nbsp; 1,677 civilians were killed and 3,644 more were injured in Afghanistan in the first six months of this 2021, ANI reported.&nbsp; This shows an 80 per cent increase in casualties compared to the same period in 2020, the report said.</p>
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&quot;Important to note that the total number of civilian casualties in the first six months of 2020 was 2,957, including 1,213 killed and 1,744 injured. A comparison of the abovementioned figures shows that civilian casualties have increased by 80 per cent in the first six months of 2021 compared with the first six months of 2020,&quot; the report observed.</p>
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