The Afghanistan Freedom Front (AFF) is an anti-Taliban armed group active across several regions of Afghanistan. AFF is one of the main armed groups opposing Taliban rule and it’s led by General Yasin Zia, Former Chief of Military Staff of Afghanistan. Gen Zia also fought as a guerilla fighter under the command of legendary anti-Taliban commander Ahmad Shah Masood. AFF is the only armed resistance group that is led by professional soldiers and commanders who served in the Afghanistan National Army under the Islamic Republic. The AFF primarily operates in the Salang Valley (Parwan province), Maza-e-Sharif (Balk Province), Andarab, Pul-e-Kurmi (Baghlan province), Ishkamish district (Takhar province), and Kapisa. But AFF has also carried out attacks in some Pashtun majority provinces like- Kandahar and Lagman. In June 2024, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reported that the AFF had conducted 14 attacks against Taliban forces over a three-month period. Mr Dawod Naji, Head of the Political Council of AFF in an exclusive interview with Manish Rai delved into the future political map and military objectives of AFF.

Question- What is the Afghanistan Freedom Front's (AFF) long-term political roadmap for Afghanistan? How does it envision reshaping the country’s political landscape?

Naji- AFF is fighting for freedom as our country is occupied by a radical, fundamentalist, terrorist, and extremist group that has canceled all the fundamental rights of Afghans. Also, the right to study and work for women is being taken away. That's why presently we don't have any legal government in Afghanistan. We are fighting to restore all the legal rights of common people. As per our experience with the Taliban for the last three decades, I can say that they don't believe in national dialogue. That is why we believe at AFF that we need to fight the Taliban with all our might and on all fronts- military, political, and social.

Question- With the Taliban maintaining control over Afghanistan, both militarily and politically, how does the AFF plan to challenge the Taliban's stronghold on the ground? What strategies do you have in place to shift the balance of power?

Naji- We believe fighting for our rights, land, and freedom is a responsibility of all of us and we don't think we should wait for the policies of other countries and then launch our struggle. As of now we are continuously attacking Taliban forces mainly through hit-and-run attacks especially in major cities. By doing this we are giving hope to people that everything is not over and the fight against the Taliban is continuing. This fight of ours we are carrying on while observing all the international laws and conventions like we make sure that no civilian target is hit in our attacks. We will be carrying out bigger attacks going forward like - we recently attacked Kabul military airport through rockets and our guerilla fighters fought with Taliban forces at the airport. Also, we aim to control sizable territory in Afghanistan to strengthen the resistance. Look, we have a comprehensive plan for our struggle. We will keep on increasing military pressure on the Taliban and on the other hand we will intensify the civil and social movement against the current oppressive regime of the Taliban. In this way, we plan to force the Taliban to come to the negotiation table and agree to restore a democratic republic that ensures all the civil rights of its people.

Question- Since the Taliban's takeover, Afghanistan’s security environment has reportedly improved, and many Afghans feel a sense of safety after years of conflict. Given the prevailing war fatigue and a general reluctance for renewed conflict, do you believe the Afghan public will rally behind the AFF's cause? How do you address concerns of further instability?

Naji: First of all, I challenged all these reports of stability and relative security in Afghanistan as these reports are not being done by the free media. These kinds of reports are just false propaganda of the Taliban nothing else. Under Taliban rule there is no freedom of expression hence nobody wants to speak about the ground reality in public. I question if people feel a bit secure under the current rule of the Taliban, then why in the last three years around 8 million people have left the country. I would like to quote an Afghan woman's social media post about this. She wrote that even while living in the most dangerous part of Afghanistan under the republic rule where the Taliban was carrying out daily attacks, we never thought about leaving our country. But living in current Afghanistan under Taliban rule with no rights feels humiliating and now I don't see any future for me in this country anymore. The truth is common Afghans feel oppressed and suffocated under the current Taliban rule. I can say that because of the corrosive policies of the Taliban people in large numbers are contacting AFF and requesting us to assist them in the uprising against Taliban.

Question: Currently, the AFF and its allies, such as Ahmad Massoud's National Resistance Front (NRF), are active in select provinces like Panjshir, Parwan, and Badakhshan. Can we expect to see AFF expanding its operations nationwide in the near future?

Naji: We have a presence in almost all areas of Afghanistan, but the majority of hit-and-run guerilla attacks are carried out in bigger cities. Small attacks are not as effective in the countryside as in cities, but we have a presence across the country.

Question: Critics often allege that the AFF is predominantly led by Tajiks, sidelining other ethnic groups. How does the AFF plan to ensure broader ethnic representation within its ranks and leadership?

Naji: I like to clarify that AFF is the platform of all Afghans irrespective of their ethnicities. In our leadership council we have representation from all ethnicities like- Pashtun, Tajik, Uzbek, and Hazara also we have ensured participation from people from all the regions of the country. We have taken lessons from the past and we definitely don’t want this struggle to take the shape of an ethnic civil war. That’s why we have ensured representation of ethnicities is based on our struggle for the fight against oppression and discrimination and to ensure rights like- social justice, gender equality, rule of law for all.

Question: Can you shed light on which countries or international actors are supporting the AFF, and in what ways? How crucial is this support for your mission?

Naji: There is no support yet from any country or other international actors. Other political groups in Afghanistan are waiting for external support to launch their campaign against the Taliban. But we at AFF believe that our country is our responsibility and to safeguard it we can't wait for any foreign assistance to start our struggle. I can say with full conviction that Taliban links with global and regional jihadi groups have strengthened after they came into power and this regime of the Taliban is a main propagator of terrorism in the region.

Question - The AFF and NRF currently do not control any significant territory, relying mainly on guerrilla tactics. Do you think this approach risks reducing your resistance to a perceived nuisance rather than a credible threat to the Taliban? What are the next steps to elevate your efforts from guerrilla warfare to more sustained resistance?

Naji: The Taliban censored all the information and there is no independent reporting currently happening on the ground in Afghanistan. The situation on the battlefield is much different from what the Taliban acknowledges: more attacks are happening against Taliban forces. We are being seen as a beacon of resistance by the masses and we will soon change this perception that the Taliban is going to rule Afghanistan for an indefinite period.