Continuing their sweeping gains since foreign forces began withdrawing from Afghanistan, the Taliban claims to have captured the strategic border crossing of Spin Boldak along the Pakistani border. According to the Afghan interior ministry, the armed group was repelled and government forces were in control.
Pakistani authorities confirmed that they have sealed their side of the country’s border crossing with Afghanistan at Chaman-Spin Boldak. The Taliban and Pakistani forces can be seen at the Afghan border in Chaman, and there are no Afghan [government] forces along the Afghan side, local administration official Arif Kakar told Al Jazeera. According to Kakar, Pakistan is currently not allowing goods or people to cross the border at Chaman-Spin Boldak, which is one of the main border crossings between South Asia and Pakistan.
Al Jazeera footage from a local witness showed the Afghan government flag on the Spin Boldak side of the crossing replaced by the white Taliban flag, in which Afghanistan is referred to as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Social media was awash in pictures of Taliban fighters appearing relaxed in some frontier town. In recent weeks, the Taliban have taken control of several border crossings and dry ports, in an attempt to siphon off much-needed revenue from Kabul while also filling their coffers.
The group had moved close to taking the border crossing days earlier after fighting erupted across Kandahar Province, forcing the government to send in commandos to prevent its fall. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid assured traders and residents that their security would be guaranteed. Officials in Afghanistan insist that they still have control. In some parts of the country, Taliban movements were observed, but security forces were able to repel the attacks, said interior ministry spokesman Tareq Arian. Government claims were disputed by the residents.
‘Today, as I walked into my shop, I saw the Taliban everywhere. They are in the bazaar, police headquarters, and customs areas. The sound of fighting was also audible nearby,’ said Raz Mohammad, a shopkeeper near the border. As the United States is just weeks away from its final withdrawal from Afghanistan, the group has carried out raids across much of the country, leaving the government with few options but to rely on air transport for supplies.
According to Al Jazeera, Fahim Sadat, head of the international relations department at Kabul’s Kardan University, believes that this incident will inform neighboring countries that the Taliban cannot be taken lightly. ‘The Taliban is trying to control economic chokepoints to put pressure on the government and the population under the government’s control,’ Sadat said. ‘With them controlling the border crossings, resupply and supply of many things to these people will be difficult,’ he said, adding that they now control crossings in both north and south Afghanistan.
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There is a warning to the neighbors that the Taliban are not a force to be defeated, which leads to a reconsideration of their relationship. The Spin Boldak crossing is vitally important for the Taliban. It allows direct access to Pakistan’s Balochistan province, where the group’s top leadership has been based for decades, and it supplies an unknown number of reserve fighters who regularly enter Afghanistan to help bolster its ranks.
On the Pakistani side of the border, AFP reporters observed about 150 Taliban fighters riding motorcycles and waving their flags, requesting passage into Afghanistan hours after the crossing fell. In addition to hosting fighters and their families, Baluchistan is a favorite destination for those seeking medical treatment. A major highway connects Baluchistan with the Pakistani capital Karachi and its Arabian Seaport.
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