Afghanistan will have 'regular, disciplined' army: Taliban army chief

Kabul: Taliban's acting army chief of staff Qari Fasihuddin has said that Afghanistan would soon have a regular army to defend the country.

Fasihuddin, in his address to a gathering in Kabul on Wednesday, said the members of the proposed army would be well-trained and disciplined to defend and protect Afghanistan, according to the radio service.

"Afghanistan would have a regular, disciplined and strong army in near future to defend and protect the country and consultations in this field continue," Xinhua news agency quoted Fasihuddin as saying to the Afghan radio service Salam Watandar.

As per an India Today report, Fasihuddin further said, "We will not let a civil war erupt. Those disturbing security and stability will be trampled and those opposing the Taliban will be arrested."

Fasihuddin's statements were later confirmed by Taliban spokesman Ahmadullah Muttaqi through a tweet mentioning that Afghanistan will "soon have a well-organized army and force". He tweeted, "Afghanistan will soon have a well-organized army and force. Qari Fasihuddin, the Taliban's chief of staff, said consultations were underway to form an army and that a regular army and force would be formed soon. He said the troops should be trained to defend Afghanistan."

The Taliban captured the capital Kabul on August 15 and announced the formation of a caretaker government on September 7 to rule Afghanistan but without regular police and army.