Surrender ofwarlord signals Afghan struggle

KABUL, Afghanistan — In a long conflict waged by men, she has been a rare female warlord, defending her fief in the northern part of this country against the Taliban, her own relatives — and even the U.S.-backed central government she allied with.

As she grewintoher 70s, ailing and bedridden with bad knees, the warlord, Bibi Ayesha, took pride in having an undefeated record in decades ofwar.

She is popularly known by a nomde guerre: CommanderKaftar, which means “pigeon” in Farsi, “because she moved and killed with the elegance of a bird,” as one profile put it.

On Thursday, the Taliban declared the end of her high-flying days: Kaftar, alongwith her men, had surrendered to them, they said in a statement.

“The officials of our Invite and Guidance Commission welcomed them,” the statement said.

Local officials in restive Baghlan province, where she’s based, and her relatives confirmed the commander’s surrender and said it was an act of survival. Her valley was so surrounded, with other neighboring militias switching sides to the Taliban, that she had no choice.

One of Kaftar’s sons played down the episode, saying it was more a truce than a surrender.

Kaftar’s surrender brings little to the Taliban militarily but is another propaganda victory against the struggling Afghan government, suggesting that in a bloody, stalemated war some were switching sides to the insurgents.

The Taliban increasingly have reached out to those disenchanted with the Afghan government as the country’s military struggles amid the U.S. withdrawal.