A former army commander has declared a fresh assault on the Taliban.

According to Lt Gen Sami Sadat, eight months of Taliban control has persuaded many Afghans that military action is the only way ahead. He stated that operations might resume next month, following the Islamic Eid festival, when he intends to return to Afghanistan. Last August, the Taliban launched a quick push to seize control of the country.

As the final US-led Nato soldiers withdrew after a 20-year military operation, hard-line Islamists swept throughout the nation in only 10 days. Lt Gen Sadat addressed the BBC for the first time about the preparations, saying he and others will do whatever and everything in our ability to ensure Afghanistan is free of the Taliban and a democratic government is re-established. Until we win our independence until we have our free will, we will struggle, he added, refusing to commit to a timetable.

The general emphasized how the Taliban had reintroduced increasingly harsh rule, including significant limits on women’s and girls’ rights, and that it was time to end their totalitarian regime and begin a new chapter. What we’ve seen in Afghanistan in the eight months of Taliban control has been nothing but additional religious restrictions, misquotation, misunderstanding, and political exploitation of writings from the Holy Koran. He had planned to give the Taliban a year to see whether they would change their ways, he added. “Unfortunately, the Taliban have something fresh to do every day you wake up – torturing people, murders, disappearances, food shortages, child starvation.”

He said he received hundreds of messages a day from Afghans asking what he planned to do about it. However, in a country ravaged by more than 40 years of violence, many Afghans are tired of fighting, anxious to flee, or trying to live in the face of a deteriorating economic crisis. According to the UN, the country is suffering from “battle weariness,” with millions on the verge of hunger. Many people in rural regions that bore the brunt of Nato’s battle with the Taliban have appreciated the relative peace now that US and Afghan jets have left the sky and Taliban strikes have ceased.

I believe they are holding their ground rather effectively. But I also advise them to, you know, trust in themselves more because Nato and other nations’ continuing backing may come to an end.

“I hope they will continue to get assistance for as long as they require it.”