TALIBAN SEEKS TO WIN OVER KABUL RESIDENTS

ISLAMABAD • The Taliban has offered to protect Kabul residents from robbers and kidnappers as the militant group seeks to take advantage of public anger at a surge in violent crime.

A campaign of announcements posted on mosques in the Afghan capital earlier this month said militant patrols would tackle criminals who have left the city fearful. Kabul has seen growing resentment at the failure to stem widespread robberies, kidnappings and murders.

Last week, Ashraf Ghani, the president, said Amrullah Saleh, his deputy, would oversee attempts to clean up the city after armed robbers raided a high school and looted students' cellphones.

Taliban announcements left in the east of Kabul claimed its fighters were already patrolling some parts of the city. “We are planning to extend our security patrols to those parts where you feel more in danger and risk,” they said.

Analysts said the propaganda campaign exaggerated the Taliban's reach and influence, but showed it was adept at tapping into frustration at the government. Residents told The Daily Telegraph it had become too dangerous to venture out after dark and said the government was too weak on criminals.

Hadi Khoshnawis, 27, said he did not go out after 6 p.m. and set his phone to silent to avoid attracting attention.

“When someone walks behind me on the street, I am scared to death,” he said. “During the Taliban's regime, people could leave behind their money on the street and pray. Now the crime statistics have skyrocketed. The price for robbery is so low.”

Delawar Hidari, 33, said his brother, Sayed Muzafarshah, was shot dead a week ago during a hold-up at the family pharmacy in western Kabul. Three robbers, in their late teens, opened fire with a pistol.

“We are afraid of this country,” he said. “When we go to the countryside, we are afraid of the Taliban. In the capital, we do not feel safe.”

Hidari said the police did not show up for 20 minutes. “If there was a government, such incidents would not have happened. We have lost our hope for the government,” he added.

But residents said the Taliban was little better than the criminals it professed to stop. “The Taliban are no less than bandits,” said Dr. Abdullah Khan. “It's like a clean-up operation by one criminal group against the other.

“Taliban and kidnappers are allies with each other. Kidnappers take people from Kabul and shift them to Taliban areas where Taliban keep them hostage. We are caught between the Taliban and criminals like between the devil and the deep sea.”