The Taliban is creating a “grand army” for Afghanistan that will include officers and troops who served in the old regime, says the official tasked with overseeing the military’s transformation. Latifullah Hakimi, head of the Taliban’s Ranks Clearance Commission, also told a news conference on Monday that they had repaired half the 81 helicopters and planes supposedly rendered unserviceable by the United States-led forces during last year’s chaotic withdrawal.
The Taliban has promised a general amnesty for everyone linked to the old regime, but nearly all senior government and military officials were among the more than 120,000 people who evacuated by air in the final days. Many of the rank and file remained, melting back into civilian life and keeping a low profile for fear of reprisals. The United Nations said in January that more than 100 people linked to the old armed forces have been killed since August. There has been little evidence the Taliban has absorbed former troops into their ranks but, over the weekend, it named two senior ex-Afghan National Army officers to top posts in the defense ministry. Hakimi said they would form “a grand army… according to the country’s needs and the national interests,” although he did not specify the size.
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