While seeking to form a government in Afghanistan, senior members of the Taliban met with former President Hamid Karzai and senior official Abdullah Abdullah and promised that this would be “completely different” from their brutal rule 20 years ago. .
But tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners are still trying to flee the country, worried about the hardliners’ record of violations of human rights in the past.
President Joe Biden-facing domestic and foreign pressures due to his handling of the withdrawal of U.S. troops after the 20-year war-said on Wednesday (August 18) that some soldiers may be at the end of August 31 Continue to stay after the deadline to ensure the evacuation of all Americans.
The senior Democrat also told ABC News that he believed it was impossible to leave Afghanistan, “without the chaos that followed,” and defended his actions.
However, Washington expressed concern that the militants who took over the country after ending the lightning offensive in Kabul over the weekend have violated their promise to go to the airport safely for Afghans who wish to leave.
In the United Arab Emirates, the deposed President Ashraf Ghani said he supports negotiations between the Taliban and former senior officials and is in talks to return to his country.
But US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman stated that Ghani “is no longer a figure” in the complex political arena of the United States.
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, the Taliban were overthrown due to a US-led invasion, they returned to the original point.
The organization promises not to retaliate against opponents and respect women’s rights, but the international community is skeptical of these promises.
The organization stated that as the Taliban began to form a government, leader Haibatullah Ahunzada had ordered the release of “political prisoners” and told the governor to release them “without any restrictions or conditions”.
The SITE monitoring team stated that the Taliban negotiator, Anas Haqqani, met with Karzai, the first Western-backed Afghan leader after the Taliban stepped down in 2001, and Abdullah, who led the government’s peace committee.
Ghani, who was in the United Arab Emirates at the time, said he and his family were being accommodated “for humanitarian reasons”-and he said he hoped these negotiations would be “successful.”
Protests and gunfire
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Tuesday that the new regime will be “completely different” from their term of office from 1996 to 2001, which is notorious for stoning deaths, girls being banned from school, and women-male contact.
However, when the Taliban leader tried to project a new image, a video clip taken by the local agency Pajhwok Afghan News showed protesters in the eastern city of Jalalabad fleeing holding the Afghan flag with gunfire in the background.
Local media said that residents protested against the removal of the flag and turned to support the flag of the hardline movement.
Residents of Bamyan reported that the statue of Abdul Ali Mazari, the leader of Hazara killed by the organization in the 1990s, had been beheaded.
For a long time, Hazaras have been persecuted for their predominant Shia beliefs and slaughtered thousands during the Taliban’s merciless conquest of the country in the 1990s.
A resident who asked not to be named told AFP: “We are not sure who bombed the statue, but there are different Taliban groups here, including some… people who are known for their brutality.”
In 2001, the Taliban destroyed two huge ancient Buddha statues in Bamiyan, thinking that they were not in accordance with Islamic teachings, which shocked the world.
despair
Afghans and foreigners continued to flee the country on Wednesday, and the United States and other countries stepped up their evacuation of airlifts from Kabul.
The desperate scenes at the airport earlier this week have created a scorching image of Afghans afraid of the Taliban, and a US that is unable to protect their decline.
“Neither I nor anyone else saw any signs that this army and this government collapsed within 11 days,” General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday. “It comes down to a question of will and leadership.”
Biden said that the Taliban were cooperating to get the Americans to leave, but added: “We had more difficulties when we were there to help our people.”
Although the Taliban promised not to retaliate, Sherman expressed shock at the harassment of Afghan nationals and the checkpoint statement.
As for the U.S. withdrawal deadline is August 31, Biden said: “If there are more U.S. citizens leaving, we will stay and let them all evacuate.”
Crowds gathered outside the Kabul embassy because of rumors that the government is providing asylum.
Human rights issues
The UN Human Rights Council stated that a special meeting on Afghanistan will be held next week to resolve the “serious human rights problems” under the leadership of the Taliban.
The European Union, the United States and 18 other countries issued a joint statement on Wednesday stating that they “are deeply concerned about Afghan women and girls” and urged the Taliban to ensure their safety.
Demonstrations have been held in cities around the world to support Afghan civilians, especially women and girls.
The Biden administration has stated that it is considering actions rather than promises when formulating methods to deal with the Taliban.
Russia, China and Iran also expressed their willingness to cooperate with the Taliban.
