The ANDSF is being supported by militia forces led by former Balkh Governor Ustad Atta Mohammad Noor, who pledged to defend the city at any cost, adding that 200 Taliban militants were killed over the past two days.

Uzbek leader Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum has joined the defenders and announced his intention of clearing the Northern Provinces of the Taliban, claiming that the Taliban were “trapped” in the North, officials said.

Meanwhile in Kunduz Province, the last ANDSF resistance to the Taliban ended with the surrender of the remaining elements of the Kunduz-based 217 Pamir Corps, who had retreated to their Corps HQ (located at the Kunduz Airport) after Kunduz city’s fall on Aug. 8.

This resulted in a significant quantity of vehicles, weaponry and equipment falling into Taliban hands, including an out of service Mi-35 helicopter (donated by India). Separately, the Taliban also claimed to have captured the airports in the recently overrun Shiberghan (Jowzjan) and Farah (Farah) cities, sources said.

In the South, clashes continued in Lashkar Gah and Kandahar cities. The Taliban claimed to have captured the Police HQ in Lashkar Gah (with 40 ANDSF personnel surrendering) and the prison in Kandahar, the inmates of which were released.

The outfit is also pressing its sieges of the capitals of Badghis (Qalah-i-Naw) and Ghazni (Ghazni).

In the backdrop of significant battlefield setbacks suffered by the ANDSF, the Afghan Government effected a shuffle in the military leadership.

Commander of the Special Forces Corps General Hibatullah Alizai was elevated to Chief of Army Staff, replacing General Wali Mohammad Ahmadzai.

In turn, Alizai’s Command has been handed over to General Sami Sadat, who had so far been commanding the 215 Maiwand Corps.

Meanwhile, #SanctionPakistan continued to trend on Twitter, with over 7,30,000 tweets using the hashtag so far, mostly originating in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In response, the Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minstty’s Digital Media Wing blamed a conspiracy to defame Pakistan by Baloch separatists, Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) and India.

In Doha, meetings and consultations on the peace process continued, including an Extended Troika meet and separately, between Taliban representatives led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Russian President’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov.