Taliban raise new military unit named 'Panipat'; Twitter calls it 'a move to spite India'

In an apparent reference to the third battle of Panipat (1761) where an Afghan army of Ahmad Shah Abdali and his Indian allies defeated the Marathas, the Afghanistan under Taliban rule have raised a special military unit called 'Panipat'. According to local media, this unit would be stationed in the Nangarhar province bordering Pakistan.

“This new unit is part of the broader move being initiated by the Taliban, under which the country aims to have a 110,000-member army. This number will be raised further if needed,” Taliban’s (acting) Defence Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob Mujahid was quoted as saying.

Reportedly, 10,000 people have been trained for the army since the Taliban takeover, and an additional 80,000 have been enrolled thus far.

Meanwhile, Twitter users have called it "a move to spite India".

A Twitter user wrote, "The Taliban named the unit for the protection of the future TAPI gas pipeline as "Panipat". ISI creativity at full display?"

"Taliban raise new Army Unit called Panipat, a move to spite India. This naming is an apparent reference to 3rd battle of Panipat 1761, where Afghans defeated Marathas. Relations will go kaboom in coming days between these two," wrote another user.

Check out the Twitter reactions below:

Published on: Wednesday, February 16, 2022, 05:51 PM IST