According to CCTV News, on the 17th local time, Amrullah Saleh, the first vice president of the Afghan government, announced through social media accounts that after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, he should legally become the caretaker president. Two days ago, when the Taliban captured the capital Kabul, Saleh vowed not to "bow to the Taliban" and to "fight to the end."
The Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan replaced a photo of former Afghan President Ghani with Saleh's. Image courtesy of IndiaTV
Although Mr. Saleh's whereabouts could not be confirmed, he appeared to have retreated to the Panjshir Valley, in northeastern Kabul, Afghanistan, which is not yet under Taliban control, according to foreign media reports. According to CCTV News quoted local people in Panjieshir on the 18th, the Taliban and government forces are still fighting in the province.
Join forces with the son of a "national hero"
"I will never be under the same roof as the Taliban"
Afghan Vice-President Saleh has added new variables to the country's ongoing crisis.
On the 17th, Saleh announced on social media that according to the Afghan Constitution, in the case of the president's "absence, escape, resignation or death", the first vice president will become the "caretaker president". He is still in the country and should legally take up the post. Saleh also said he was seeking support and consensus from other leaders.
Source: Amrulla Saleh
Since Kabul fell into Taliban hands last Sunday, Saleh has traveled to Panjshir province, a Tajik-populated area north of Kabul, to join Ahmed Masoud, the son of prominent anti-Taliban fighter Ahmed Shah Masoud, and Afghan Defense Minister Bismila Khan Mohammed in Ghani's cabinet, along with Ahmed Masood, the son of prominent anti-Taliban fighter aficioner Ahmed Shah Masoud, and Afghan Defense Minister Bismila Khan Mohammed in Ghani's cabinet, according to foreign media reports.
On the 16th local time, photos of Saleh's meeting with Ahmed Massoud appeared on social media.
Photo of Saleh (right) meeting with Ahmed Massoud (center) appears on social media. Image according to Twitter
Saleh once tweeted: "I will never, never, under any circumstances bow to Taliban terrorists." I will never betray my hero, Ahmed Shah Masood, the soul and legacy of this commander, legend and mentor. I will never be under the same roof as the Taliban. never. ”
Saleh related tweets. Screenshot from Twitter
Saleh tweeted that Masood was a military leader of the anti-Taliban force Northern Alliance in the 1990s and posthumously awarded the title of "Afghan National Hero." Because the place name of his hometown of Panjshir province means "five-headed lion", Masood is known to the Afghan people as the "Panjhir Lion".
On September 10, 2001 local time, a young man in Afghanistan's Panjshir province mourned Masood. The day before, Massoud was injured by a bomb in Tahar province and died. Pictured according to MEAWW News Network
From poor orphans to big politicians
He was evaluated as an "eloquent analyst"
Saleh, 48, was also born in Panjahir. Although little is known about his childhood, his friends and supporters have revealed that Saleh was orphaned at an early age and his family was destitute. Saleh was a subordinate of Massoud and fought against the Taliban for many years.
Saleh childhood photos. Image according to Facebook
To date, he has served as head of intelligence agencies, minister of the interior, and as Ghani's running mate, from wars against the Soviet Union to wars against the Taliban and al-Qaida. In many ways, Saleh's trajectory in life and the imprint of the times projected on him also reflect the war and resistance that Afghanistan has experienced in recent decades, as well as the crises faced by those who live in it.
In 1992, when then-Afghan President Mohammed Najibullah stepped down and Afghanistan fell into a protracted civil war, during which Time Saleh was a member of the anti-Taliban Northern Coalition; in 1997, Saleh was appointed by Massoud as head of the United Front International Liaison Office at the Afghan Embassy in Tajikistan, serving as coordinator of non-governmental humanitarian organizations and liaison partner for foreign intelligence agencies; in 2004, Three years after the U.S.-led coalition overthrew the Taliban regime, Saleh became head of Afghanistan's intelligence agency, a position he held until 2010.
Saleh (left) speaks at an international conference in Berlin, Germany, in 2011. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
In 2017, Saleh joined President Ashraf Ghani's cabinet and became Interior Minister in 2018; in February 2020, after Ghani became president of Afghanistan, Saleh was promoted to first vice president.
Saleh is an eloquent analyst who regularly speaks at international security and policy forums. Now, after Ghani fled the war-torn country for years, Saleh declared himself the legitimate caretaker president, leading Panjhir's anti-Taliban forces to continue their resistance to the Taliban.
At the Kabul Presidential Palace on March 9, 2020, then-Afghan President Ghani ( center ) shakes hands with First Vice President Saleh ( left ) and Second Vice President Salva Denish at the swearing-in ceremony of the country's leaders. Figure according to AFP
My sister died at the hands of the Taliban
He was assassinated many times and was known as the "Nine Lives"
During the 1996 civil war in Afghanistan, the Taliban invaded Kabul, and Saleh's sister Mariam was persecuted to death by Taliban militants. Saleh once wrote in an editorial in Time magazine: "Because of what happened in 1996, my view of the Taliban has changed forever. ”
Source: Saleh
As a former head of Afghan intelligence agencies, Saleh has been the target of assassinations several times during his years in politics. On July 28, 2019, three militants reportedly broke into Saleh's office in Kabul and a suicide bomber blew himself up. At least 20 people were killed and 50 injured in the suicide bombing and gun battle. Although Saleh was not injured in the attack, the attack claimed the lives of several of his colleagues and two nephews.
On September 9, 2020, Saleh was wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Kabul that killed 10 people and injured 15 civilians, including some of his bodyguards. The Taliban deny responsibility.
Afghan security personnel work at the site of an explosion in Kabul, afghanistan, on Sept. 9, 2020, targeting the country's first vice president, Saleh. Pictured according to The Associated Press
After the explosion, Saleh posted an image on social media showing him with bandages wrapped around his arms and burns to his face. The attack on Saleh was condemned by the international community, including the European Union.
In September 2020, Saleh was injured in a roadside bomb attack in Kabul. Image according to Facebook
Saleh was physically strong, consistently ignoring concerns about his safety, and his experience of surviving numerous assassinations allowed his nickname "Nine Lives" to spread among the crowd. In a 2009 interview with U.S. media, he said: "I have told my family and friends that if they kill me, please don't complain about anything. I proudly killed many of them, so I was a very, very reasonable target. Opposing them has become a part of my blood, and I firmly believe they are wrong. ”
Red Star News reporter Wang Yalin Intern reporter Hu Yiling
Edited by Li Binbin
(Download Red Star News, there are prizes for the newspaper!) ）