Afghanistan under Taliban rule will now have a special military unit called ‘Panipat’ — an apparent
reference to the historical third battle of Panipat (1761) where an Afghan army beat the Marathas.
On social media, many users said that the raising of the “Panipat operational unit” is
a jingoistic attempt by the Taliban to spite India.
The unit will be station at Nangarhar, an area that borders Pakistan.
Some photos of the unit recently shared on Twitter by an user.
Some social media users praised the raising of the unit, while some others derided it,
calling it a result of a prod from Pakistan.
This new unit is part of broader move being initiate by the Taliban,
under which the country aims to have a 110,000-member army.
This number will be raise further if need, Taliban’s (acting) Defence Minister said.
According to media reports, 10,000 people have been train for
the army since the Taliban takeover, and an additional 80,000 have
been enrolle thus far.
It may be recall here that the Taliban taken over Afghanistan in August 2021,
following the departure of US troops from the war-torn country.