Guwahati News Desk: The Taliban on Wednesday announced that they gained control over the town in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar province, situated next to the Durand Line border, an important trade route that links Pakistan with southern Afghanistan.
The Spin Boldak is the latest in a string of border crossings and dry ports seized by the Taliban in recent weeks, with the insurgents looking to choke off much-needed revenue from the government in Kabul while also filling their own coffers.
The chairman of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, Shafiqullah Attai, in capital city of Kabul informed that the Taliban in recent weeks have taken control of Islam Qala and Turghundi in Herat province, ShirKhan Bandar in Kunduz and Abu Naser Farahi border port in Farah province.
He further added, “We don’t have exact figure on the volume of trade and transit conducted from these ports as they are now with the Taliban… income has started to go to the Taliban.”
Meanwhile, the Afghan government officials tried their best to insist by saying that the attack over the town in Spin Boldak, had been repelled and the government forces had control over the area, but a Pakistani security source ended up informing that the Taliban’s white flag was flying over the town.
Although the situation on the ground could not be immediately verified, but social media was abuzz with pictures of Taliban fighters looking relaxed in what appeared to be the frontier town.
The seizure of the Spin Boldak follows days of heavy fighting across Kandahar province, where the government was forced to deploy commando fighters to prevent the fall of the provincial capital even as the insurgents inched closer and closer to taking the frontier crossing.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson stated, “With this, the important road between (Spin) Boldak and Chaman and Kandahar customs have come under Mujahideen control.”
However, he assured the traders and residents there that their “security is guaranteed”.