Yasin Zia, leader of the Afghanistan Freedom Front, says the recent clashes in Zebak district of Badakhshan Province demonstrate that the Taliban’s claim of having completely eliminated armed resistance does not reflect realities on the ground.
In an interview with the English-language media outlet Amregi, Zia said the Freedom Front’s recent attack on Taliban positions in Zebak showed that organizing armed resistance inside Afghanistan remains possible.
He stressed that armed struggle is not the movement’s ultimate objective but rather a means of ending what he described as the concentration of power and creating conditions for a political process. According to Zia, the long-term goal is to establish a system in which political power is transferred through the will of the people, elections and the rule of law.
Zia also rejected the idea that the conflict with the Taliban is an ethnic war, arguing that the Taliban do not represent any single ethnic community in Afghanistan. He said both the victims of Taliban policies and those opposing the group come from all of the country’s ethnic communities, adding that the central issue is what he described as the monopoly of power by an ideological circle.
The Freedom Front leader called on anti-Taliban movements to set aside their differences and unite around shared principles, including ending Taliban rule, restoring popular sovereignty, preserving Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, protecting the rights of women and all ethnic groups, and establishing an accountable political system.
He concluded by saying that the Freedom Front does not reject dialogue in principle. However, he said the movement considers core principles—including popular sovereignty, women’s fundamental rights, equality before the law, civil liberties and judicial independence—to be non-negotiable.
The Taliban have not publicly responded to Zia’s latest remarks.
