- Since the occupation of Kabul, Afghanistan, the Taliban held their first public briefing.
- The organization stated that they want peace and will respect women’s rights.
- At the same time, dozens of people are trying to leave Kabul.
The Taliban held their first official press conference in Kabul on Tuesday, announcing that they hope to establish peaceful relations with other countries and respect women’s rights within the framework of Islamic law.
“We don’t want any internal or external enemies,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, the main spokesperson of the movement.
Mujahid said that women will be allowed to work and study and “will be very active in society, but within the framework of Islam.”
Amrullah Saleh, the first vice president of Afghanistan, also stated that he is in the country and claims to be the “legitimate caretaker president” and that he will not bow to the new ruler of Kabul.
Quoting | World leaders react to Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
When the Taliban press conference was held, the United States and Western allies evacuated diplomats and civilians on the second day of the chaos at the Kabul airport because Afghans desperately wanted to flee the Taliban.
When they are eager to evacuate diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan, foreign forces are evaluating how to respond to the changing situation on the ground.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the Taliban should allow everyone who wants to leave the country to leave, adding that NATO’s goal is to help build a viable country in Afghanistan.
In the chaotic scene of Kabul Airport, the withdrawal of US troops has been widely criticized. German President Frank-Waltersteinmeier said: “The desperate picture at Kabul Airport has humiliated Western politics.”
According to the U.S. troop withdrawal agreement reached last year, the Taliban agreed not to attack foreign troops when they leave.
flight
After the Taliban’s sudden occupation of the capital, the Kabul Airport’s runway was cleared of thousands of people eager to flee, the US military flight to evacuate diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan restarted on Tuesday.
Read | Afghan central bank governor flees, currency plummets during Taliban takeover
The U.S. military took over the airport on Sunday—the only way they could fly out of Afghanistan—20 years after they were driven out of the U.S.-led invasion, militants took over Kabul without fighting, ending a week of rapid advance.
A Western security official at the airport told Reuters that the number of civilians had decreased. One day later, the U.S. army opened fire to disperse the crowd, and people clung to the chaotic scene of a U.S. military transport plane taxiing to take off.
A diplomat at the airport said that at least 12 military flights have taken off. The plane was originally scheduled to arrive from countries such as Australia and Poland to pick up their nationals and Afghan colleagues.
President Joe Biden stated that he must decide between asking the U.S. military to fight endlessly or implementing the withdrawal agreement negotiated by his predecessor, Republican Donald Trump.
“I firmly support my decision,” Biden said. “Twenty years later, I learned with difficulty that there has never been a good time to withdraw troops.”
Even his own diplomats have faced criticism, blaming the Taliban’s takeover on the fleeing Afghan political leaders and their army’s unwillingness to fight.
