Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in Kabul on Tuesday held the group’s first press conference since taking over the city. In it, he reiterated the group’s reassurances of providing peace to the Afghan people, keeping embassies and diplomats safe, and providing women with the rights guaranteed “under Sharia” including allowing them to work.
In remarks seemingly catered to an international audience, Mujahid said the Taliban promised peaceful relations with other countries and promised that Afghan soil would not be used against anybody, saying, “We don’t want any internal or external enemies,” he said.
“Global community should rest assured that we’re committed that you will not be harmed anyway from our soil,” Mujahid said.
Declaring that the war in Afghanistan was now over, Mujahid said the Taliban now controlled all of Afghanistan’s borders and sought to assure the international community that peace would prevail.
He said the Taliban had originally planned to stop at the gates of Kabul after capturing other areas. “Unfortunately, the previous government was incompetent. They could not provide security.”
He said the security of embassies in Kabul was of “crucial importance” to the Taliban and sought to assure foreign countries that Taliban forces would ensure the security of all embassies, missions, international organisations, and aid agencies.
In response to a question about whether the group was different today than what it was in the 1990s when it last ruled Afghanistan, Mujahid said the group said its ideology and beliefs were the same as they were Muslims, but added that there has been a “change in terms of experience as they are more experience and have a different perspective,” Afghan news channel TOLONews reported.
Mujahid said women would be allowed to work without specifying at what capacity. “Women are going to be very active in society, but within the framework of Islam,” he said.
The conference in Kabul took place as evacuation flights from the country resumed. The US—which controls Kabul’s main airport—is now accelerating its efforts to airlift American and Afghan allies from the airport. The Pentagon on Tuesday said it had brought nine Air Force C-17 transport planes with equipment and 1,000 troops. Seven C-17s took off with 700-800 evacuees, including 165 Americans.”
Responding to the press conference, a UN spokesman said, “We will need to see what actually happens. We will need to see acts on the ground in terms of promises kept.”