Hundreds of Kabul residents came out on the streets today in protest against what they said was meddling by Pakistan in Afghanistan’s affairs, three weeks after the Taliban’s takeover. In videos shared by local journalists on social media, the crowds were heard shouting slogans like “death to Pakistan”, “we don’t want a Pakistani puppet government” and “Pakistan, leave Afghanistan”, among others.
The Taliban fired shots into the air to disperse crowds at the protest, news agency AFP reported.
Pakistan’s spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which is notorious for supporting terror groups against India, is believed to be working with the Taliban and laying the groundwork for a new government in the country where a US-led alliance fought a war against terror for 20 years.
“ISI stay away,” read a placard held up by a woman at the protest outside the Pakistani embassy in the Afghan capital.
“The Islamic government is shooting at our poor people,” one panic-stricken woman on the street says over sounds of gunfire in a video clip posted on Twitter by Asvaka news agency. “These people (Taliban) are very unjust, and they are not human at all.”ISI chief Faiz Hameed was in Kabul at the weekend, reportedly to be briefed by his country’s ambassador. But he likely met with Taliban officials too.
There is speculation that the consensus to make Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund the next Prime Minister was arrived at during the Pakistan military intelligence chief’s stay in Kabul.