Afghanistan too big for Pak to swallow and Taliban to govern: Saleh
Kabul, Aug 19 (UNI) A day after Afghans rallied in different parts of the country waving the national flag and removing the Taliban flag, the country’s Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who has declared himself the caretaker President after the Taliban takeover, on Thursday said he salutes those who carry the country’s flag and that ‘Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for the Taliban to govern’.
In tweets, Saleh expressed his respect for those who were killed in the Taliban firing.
“I express my respect, support and appreciation for the courageous and patriotic movement of the honorable people of my country in different places for raising the national flag against the Taliban proxy group. A number were honorably martyred in this way.
Salute those who carry the national flag and thus stand for dignity of the nation and the country,” he said.
“Nations must respect the rule of law, not violence. Afghanistan is too big for Pakistan to swallow and too big for Talibs to govern. Don’t let your histories have a chapter on humiliation and bowing to terror groups,” he tweeted.
On Wednesday, hundreds of Afghan nationals, mostly the youth, took to the streets in defiance of the Taliban and waved the country’s national flag, and in many places replaced the Taliban’s white flag with the national flag. There were reports of the Taliban firing on the protesters.
According to social media posts and videos, youth removed the Taliban flag from Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, and were fired on by the Taliban.
Jalalabad is the last city that fell to the Taliban before Kabul.
Hundreds of Afghans also demonstrated against the Taliban in Ghanikhel district, in eastern Nangarhar province.
In the eastern city of Khost, the Taliban opened fire on protesters who were waving the national flag. There were reports of multiple deaths and injuries after residents took down the white Taliban flag and replaced it with the black, red and green flag of Afghanistan in Khost.
Similar incidents were reported from Asadabad city, the capital of Kunar in northeastern Afghanistan.
Saleh has declared himself the caretaker president, in the wake of Ashraf Ghani having left the country, and has joined forces with Ahmad Massoud, the son of late Afghan leader Ahmad Shah Massoud.
Ahmad Massoud and Saleh are camping in Panjshir, in northeastern Afghanistan, that has not been taken over by the Taliban.
UNI