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Last days of Afghanistan in 2021 Pt. 2 - Taliban's public enemy number one Commander Khalid Amiri - Part 1

In this serious the situation around the fall of Afghanistan in on 15/31 August 2021 shall be analysed. This is Part 2 of the serious

Part 1 can be read here.

On 15 August 2022, one year after the fall of Afghanistan, Independent Farsi (the Persian section of Independent) published an article by Anisa Shaheed in Persian. Titled “Khalid Amiri, Commander of the Resistance Front in Panjshir: History Should Not Judge the Military Unfairly” (Persian original: خالد امیری فرمانده جبهه مقاومت در پنجشیر: تاریخ نباید درباره نظامیان ناعادلانه قضاوت کند), the article recounts the war narratives from the final days of Afghanistan leading up to Kabul's fall on August 15, 2021.


Contents

1) English Translation of the article

2) Summary and analysis

3) Main quotes of Khalid Amiri

4) Key Themes and Analysis

5) Conclusion


Guerrilla commander Khalid Amiri in Afghanistan

1) English Translation of the article

Khalid Amiri, Commander of the Resistance Front in Panjshir: History Should Not Judge the Military Unfairly

How Commandos Created Resistance Cells in Afghanistan After the Fall of Kabul

by Anisa Shaheed

August 15, 2022

Khalid Amiri was the commander of the Joint Special Battalions in the previous government and is now the commander of a section of anti-Taliban forces in Panjshir - Photo: Independent Persian

On August 15, 2021, when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled with a number of his close associates and Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, a number of army special forces were still trying to defend Kabul. Khalid Amiri, the commander of the joint forces, who is now in charge of a part of the resistance in the Hindu Kush foothills of Panjshir province, spoke to the Independent Persian about the events of August 15 and 16, 2021. He recounted the soldiers’ resistance against the Taliban and their defense of Kabul.

Commander Khalid Amiri explained that on the night of Saturday, August 14, 2021 (23 Mordad 1400), the intelligence groups of the Ministry of National Defense and Interior Affairs reported that the Taliban had reached the vicinity of the 111th Security Battalion located at the eastern gate of Kabul in the Pul-e-Charkhi area, near the joint forces military base, and that a number of Taliban members had also entered the Khak Jabbar district on the outskirts of Kabul.

Although all security officials were present in these intelligence groups, no official decision or order was issued to the soldiers, and everyone remained silent.

Amiri says that the successive fall of more than 20 provinces to the Taliban and the silence of security and defense officials had weakened the morale of the soldiers, and everyone had concluded that Kabul would also fall: "All of the approximately 500 soldiers who were with me at the joint forces base prepared to go to Panjshir to resist if Kabul fell to the Taliban. At the same time, news arrived that the headquarters of the 111th Battalion, which was near us, had been evacuated and everyone had left. At the same time, the lock on the Pul-e-Charkhi prison was broken and the prisoners were released. This is when the fall of Kabul became more likely and we had to prepare to go to Panjshir."

Khalid Amiri says that the day before the fall, he had an hour-long conversation with Ahmad Massoud, the son of the national hero, about the situation in Afghanistan and preparations for resistance if Kabul fell to the Taliban. In this conversation, it was decided that if Kabul fell based on a political decision, he would stay in Kabul, and if the city fell to the Taliban, Ahmad Massoud would go to Panjshir and lead the anti-Taliban resistance.

The former commander of the Joint Special Forces, who has undergone military training inside and outside Afghanistan and has fought against opposition groups in every corner of Afghanistan for more than 10 years, says: “I told all my colleagues that the situation is getting more complicated; the leaders of the government and the security and defense institutions do not intend to defend Kabul. My decision is that if we cannot defend Kabul, I will go to Panjshir. If anyone among you is willing to come to Panjshir, come with me. We will create an anti-Taliban resistance group; of course, there will be many difficulties.”

Of the 500 soldiers who were present at the Joint Special Forces base on August 15, 2021, nearly 300 people expressed their readiness to join the resistance.

The commander added: "I called Bismillah Mohammadi, the Minister of National Defense, but he said: The Taliban will not enter Kabul. The Americans will not allow it. A joint meeting with foreigners is currently being held at the RS center; the Chief of Staff, the Deputy Minister of Interior for Security, and several other officials are speaking at the meeting. The outcome of the meeting was announced, and after the task is clarified, we will make a decision. I will let you know by 12:00. Wait for me."

Amiri recounts that Mohammadi called after 12 noon and said that the Americans had promised not to allow the Taliban to enter Kabul and that any movement would be responded to with airstrikes.

“Two hours later, I called Mr. Mohammadi again. He told me to go to the Ministry of Defense. At the same time, Sami Sadat, who had been appointed head of Kabul security the day before, called and told me to go to the Joint Afghan-Foreign Forces Coordination Center, or JSAC, at the Kabul airport.”

A convoy of military vehicles from the Joint Special Forces Battalion, carrying about 300 soldiers equipped with weapons, set off from the Hotkhel area of Kabul. Heavy traffic prevented them from reaching the Joint Afghan-Foreign Forces Coordination Center at Kabul airport at night. A few soldiers were standing near the gate, but they were not responsible and did not know what to do. The 300-man convoy stopped near the 777th Brigade of the Afghan Special Forces.

Commander Khalid Amiri says: “We did not find anyone in charge at the Joint Afghan-Foreign Forces Coordination Center. Near the entrance to the Air Force, Habib Khan Hessari, the head of the Counter-Terrorism Department, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Defense, was sitting in a car looking for a pen. I greeted him and asked what we should do, what was the command’s decision? He paid no attention and did not respond. At that moment, I noticed that Yasin Zia, the former chief of the army staff, was coming out of the gate of the Air Force Brigade building with a large number of pilots. They said they were going to Termez.”

Khalid Amiri wants two or three planes to take them to Panjshir. He was told that General Fahim Ramin, commander of Brigade 777, was to take them to Panjshir. He went to the office of Fahim Ramin, commander of the army’s air force. Ramin, Defense Minister Bismillah Mohammadi, and former Interior Minister Taj Mohammad Jahed were there, along with a number of other officials. Bismillah Khan said, “We will not leave Kabul anytime soon. We are now inside the airport and monitoring the situation. Let’s see what happens.”

Amiri says that there, a number of officials were pressuring Bismillah Mohammadi to leave Afghanistan, but Mohammadi became angry and said, “I will not go; if I run away, will my 40 years of hard work go to waste?”

Meanwhile, Dr. Mobin Khairkhwa, an official at the Ministry of Interior, said that the Taliban had issued a statement that since the security forces were not in the city, the Taliban were entering the city. Gunfire could be heard from all sides. At the same time, an air force officer entered the office and said that the Taliban had entered Kabul airport. Upon hearing this news, everyone present in the office of the commander of the army’s air force left.

Commander Khalid Amiri says: “I quickly went to my colleagues in JSAC, but I realized that the Americans were stationed in the western part of the airport and there were no Taliban there. A group of security and defense officials were at the military airport and their armored vehicles were abandoned there. A C-130 aircraft was also near the civilian airport. They said it had so many passengers that it could not fly.

Helicopters were also at the military airport, but there was no pilot there to take us to Panjshir. Finally, we brought in a pilot who was left outside the airport. This pilot started a helicopter, we put ammunition in it. A few people had just boarded it, and it quickly flew to Panjshir.”

Commander Khalid says that in this same situation, several commanders of the special forces, commandos, strike forces, and army forces who were at the Darul Aman base called and said that none of the heads of the security agencies were there and they were left undecided about what to do. It was decided that they would join him and, in coordination with each other, organize a convoy and decide on the defense of Kabul.

It was midnight on August 15 when these most experienced Afghan soldiers were sitting in the Afghan and foreign forces coordination center, where all operations and military decisions for defense were made, and in the absence of the directors of Afghan and foreign institutions, they were drawing up plans to defend the regime. Khalid Amiri’s plan was that they would enter the presidential palace as the last Afghan security forces through Amani High School and the High Council for National Reconciliation and stay there and protect the palace until a political agreement was reached. However, half of these soldiers did not agree with this decision and agreed to Amiri’s second proposal, which was to go to Panjshir and resist the Taliban.

Amiri says: “As the last Afghan soldiers, we had the responsibility to defend Kabul. The president had left, but the soldiers were there and they had to defend Kabul so that history would not judge the soldiers incorrectly; but a number of my colleagues were against this proposal and did not consider it effective.”

By morning, out of more than 300 soldiers, about 150 were ready to join the resistance. They organized a convoy to move towards Panjshir, but reports came that the Taliban had placed containers full of explosives on the New and Old Kabul North Road and were ambushing the convoy of these soldiers. Now the only way to Panjshir was by helicopter, but no pilot was willing to take them to Panjshir. The pilots’ situation was critical and they were waiting for a flight out of Afghanistan at the Kabul military airport to save their lives.

Khalid Amiri recounts: “More than 100 pilots were sitting somewhere. I went to them and asked if there was anyone who would volunteer to take us to Panjshir and back. Only four took off. We filled two helicopters with weapons and ammunition and four of us boarded the helicopters. “Idris Laghmani, the pilot of one of the helicopters that was about to take off, suddenly turned off the helicopter and said, ‘This is broken, it won’t fly. Get off.’ We were disappointed. We put all the ammunition in another helicopter and took off. After our flight, Idris Laghmani took off in the same helicopter and joined the Taliban in the Gambiri area of Laghman province.”

Amiri says that this pilot now holds an important position at the Taliban military airport.

The helicopters landed at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, August 16, at the Panjshir Sports Stadium and reinforced the anti-Taliban resistance bases in Darband, Kotal Anjuman and Kotal Khawak that had been established earlier.

Khalid Amiri, who is now one of the most important commanders of the National Resistance Front in Panjshir, says that the soldiers who went to Panjshir province with him to join the Resistance Front one day after the fall of the regime in Kabul, could have gone to European countries and the United States for a carefree life, but they chose to fight the Taliban. According to Amiri, foreigners were even willing to send helicopters for these soldiers to transport them and their families out of Afghanistan; but these soldiers had promised to continue the anti-Taliban resistance.

Now, these soldiers, along with a number of former mujahideen and many Afghans, have been fighting against the Taliban in the foothills of the Hindu Kush in the provinces of Panjshir, Andarab, Khost, Nahrin, Takhar, Badakhshan, Parwan, Kapisa and some other provinces for a year, hoping that Afghanistan will achieve freedom and justice.


2) Summary

The interview with Khalid Amiri, commander of the Resistance Front in Panjshir, chronicles the critical events surrounding Afghanistan's sudden fall to the Taliban in August 2021. On August 15, when President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, Amiri and his unit of special forces were still engaged in defending Kabul. They received alarming intelligence regarding the Taliban's advances, yet the military leadership failed to act decisively, causing the soldiers' morale to plummet.

Amiri recounts having a vital conversation with Ahmad Massoud, son of the Afghan hero Ahmad Shah Durrani, where they planned for a potential resistance. He insisted on preparing his soldiers for a fight in case the situation turned dire, indicating a lack of intent from senior officials to resist the Taliban.

As Kabul fell, Amiri and around 300 soldiers aimed to reach the Joint Afghan-Foreign Forces Coordination Center at the airport to regroup. However, they encountered disorganization and confusion upon arrival, contributing to a breakdown in leadership and command. After witnessing the collapse of security within Kabul, Amiri devised a plan to defend the presidential palace, but faced dissent among his troops. Ultimately, many soldiers opted to join him in seeking refuge and resisting in Panjshir instead.

Despite facing numerous obstacles, including ambush threats on their route and reluctance from pilots to fly due to danger, Amiri and his men managed to secure helicopters and successfully reach Panjshir by August 16. Despite offers from foreign forces to evacuate them, the soldiers chose to fight, fueled by a commitment to the anti-Taliban cause.

Now, under Amiri's command, they continue to resist the Taliban across various provinces, embodying hopes for liberation and justice in Afghanistan. The narrative emphasizes the resolve of these soldiers, highlighting their decision to remain and resist rather than seek safety abroad, with Amiri urging that history should view their actions favorably despite the chaos of their circumstances.

Khalid Amiri and NRF fighters in Hindukush mountains

3) Main quotes of Khalid Amiri

Here are some main quotes attributed to Khalid Amiri from the article:

On the morale of the soldiers and the response to the Taliban threat:

"All of the approximately 500 soldiers who were with me at the joint forces base prepared to go to Panjshir to resist if Kabul fell to the Taliban."

Reflecting on the situation on the eve of Kabul’s fall:

“I told all my colleagues that the situation is getting more complicated; the leaders of the government and the security and defense institutions do not intend to defend Kabul.”

"I called Bismillah Mohammadi, the Minister of National Defense, but he said: The Taliban will not enter Kabul."

"I told all my colleagues that the situation is getting more complicated; the leaders of the government and the security and defense institutions do not intend to defend Kabul."

On the decision to create a resistance group:

“If we cannot defend Kabul, I will go to Panjshir. If anyone among you is willing to come to Panjshir, come with me. We will create an anti-Taliban resistance group; of course, there will be many difficulties.”

“The soldiers who went to Panjshir... could have gone to European countries and the United States for a carefree life, but they chose to fight the Taliban.”

Discussing the response from military officials:

"I called Bismillah Mohammadi, the Minister of National Defense, but he said: The Taliban will not enter Kabul. The Americans will not allow it."

On the responsibility of Afghan soldiers:

“As the last Afghan soldiers, we had the responsibility to defend Kabul. The president had left, but the soldiers were there and they had to defend Kabul so that history would not judge the soldiers incorrectly.”

On the readiness of soldiers to join the resistance:

“More than 100 pilots were sitting somewhere. I went to them and asked if there was anyone who would volunteer to take us to Panjshir and back.”

These quotes encapsulate Amiri's reflections on the events surrounding the fall of Kabul, the response from military leaders, and the resolute spirit of the soldiers choosing to resist the Taliban.


4) Key Themes and Analysis

1. Leadership and Decision-Making

Khalid Amiri's leadership is central to the narrative. He emerges as a figure of resolve in a situation characterized by confusion and inadequacy amongst higher-ranking officials. His recognition that the Taliban's advance was imminent leads him to prepare for resistance.

The disarray among Afghan military leadership is notable. Amiri’s communications with other officials reveal a lack of strategic decision-making and coordination, exacerbated by misinformation and misjudgment from leaders who failed to grasp the gravity of the situation. Amiri frames his own decisions as principled, emphasizing the duty to defend Kabul and prevent an unfair historical judgment on the military.

2. Morale and Soldier Sentiment

The article illustrates the declining morale among soldiers as the Taliban made significant territorial gains. Amiri’s efforts to rally troops for resistance—most notably the 300 soldiers willing to follow him to Panjshir—underscore the desperation and loyalty felt among the military ranks.

The contrast between the soldiers’ willingness to fight despite their circumstances and the inaction of their superiors highlights a disconnect between the leadership’s perspectives and that of the frontline troops.

3. Resistance Formation

Amiri's narrative details the strategic discussions that fueled the formation of the anti-Taliban resistance in Panjshir. His conversations with Ahmad Massoud and other leaders suggest a tactical approach towards organized resistance as a means to continue fighting against the Taliban.

The mention of soldiers opting to resist instead of fleeing to safety emphasizes a commitment to national identity and sovereignty.

4. Historical Context

Amiri’s insistence that history should not judge the Afghan soldiers harshly reflects a desire to reclaim agency in the narrative surrounding Afghanistan’s struggles. It presents a rebuttal to possible interpretations of military failure and loss as cowardice or lack of patriotism.

The historical heroes such as Ahmad Massoud serve as symbolic figures motivating the contemporary resistance, invoking a legacy of defiance against oppression.

5. The Broader Afghan Conflict

The article places Amiri’s actions within the broader context of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, indicating that the resistance has continued in various provinces. This suggests a persistent quest for freedom and justice that transcends the immediate defeat of the prior government.

The reference to collaborations with former mujahideen and diverse Afghan communities suggests a unifying resistance movement against the Taliban, reiterating the complexities of Afghan identity.

6. Personal Choices and Sacrifices

The personal sacrifices made by Amiri and his colleagues, opting to fight rather than escape, accentuate themes of bravery, loyalty, and personal integrity. The decision to remain and resist against overwhelming odds speaks to a deeper narrative of heroism.

The mention that foreign powers were willing to evacuate these soldiers highlights the moral dilemma faced by military personnel in times of crisis—whether to prioritize self-preservation or national duty.


5) Conclusion

The article encapsulates a pivotal moment in Afghani history through Khalid Amiri’s narrative. It touches on themes of leadership, morale, resistance, and the quest for a legacy amid chaotic circumstances. Amiri emerges as a key figure representing the resilience of the Afghan military spirit, even in the face of undeniable defeat, and calls on the collective memory of the nation to view these soldiers as defenders rather than failures. The text serves not only as a historical account but also as a poignant reflection on identity, agency, and national pride amid turmoil.


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