Afghanistan’s interior minister reveals plan to push back Taliban

Afghan Interior minister says the gov’t is arming local groups as part of a plan to push back the Taliban offensive.

Afghanistan’s government is arming local groups as part of a three-phase plan to push back the Taliban offensive, the Afghan interior minister tells Al Jazeera in an exclusive interview. Afghanistan Interior Minister General Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said on Wednesday that Afghan forces are also focusing on trying to secure main highways, large cities and border crossings, after the Taliban seized nine provincial capitals in under a week. Mirzakwal, who took charge of the country’s 130,000-strong police force five weeks ago, said the government was throwing support behind local volunteer militias known as “uprising movements”.