KABUL — The Afghan Taliban said on Tuesday they
wanted peaceful relations with other countries and would respect the rights of
women within the framework of Islamic law, as they held their first official
news briefing since their shock seizure of Kabul.
اضافة اعلان
The
Taliban announcements, short on details but suggesting a
softer line than during their rule 20 years ago, came as the United States and
Western allies evacuated diplomats and civilians the day after scenes of chaos
at Kabul airport as Afghans thronged the airfield.
As they rush to evacuate, foreign powers are assessing how
to respond to the changed situation on the ground after Afghan forces melted
away in just days, with what many had predicted as the likely fast unravelling
of women's rights.
During their 1996–2001 rule, the Taliban stopped women from
working and administered punishments including public stoning.
Girls were not
allowed to go to school and women had to wear burqas to go out.
"We don't want any internal or external enemies,"
the movement's main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said.
Women would be allowed to work and study and "will be
very active in society but within the framework of Islam", he added.
"We will need to see what actually happens and I think
we will need to see acts on the ground in terms of promises kept," UN
spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York in response to the
Taliban news conference.
Mujahid said the Taliban would not seek retribution against
former soldiers and members of the Western-backed government, adding the
movement was granting an amnesty for former Afghan government soldiers as well
as contractors and translators who worked for international forces.
"Nobody is going to harm you, nobody is going to knock
on your doors," he said, adding that there was a "huge
difference" between the Taliban now and 20 years ago.
He said private media could continue to be free and
independent in Afghanistan and that the Taliban were committed to the
media within their cultural framework.
He also said families trying to flee the country at the
airport should return home and nothing would happen to them.
Resistance
Mujahid's conciliatory tone contrasted sharply with comments
by Afghan First Vice President Amrullah Saleh, who declared himself the
"legitimate caretaker president" and vowed that he would not bow to
Kabul's new rulers.
Despite his outspoken comments it was not immediately clear
how much support Saleh enjoys in a country wearied by decades of conflict.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Taliban
should allow all those who wanted to leave the country to depart, adding that
NATO's aim was to help build a viable state in Afghanistan.
The alliance also said the Taliban must not
let Afghanistan become a breeding ground for terrorism again, warning
that even after its withdrawal, it retained the military power to strike any
terrorist group from a distance.
Under a US troops withdrawal pact struck last year, the
Taliban agreed not to attack foreign forces as they leave.
The decision by US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to stick
to the deal struck by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump has triggered
widespread criticism at home and among US allies.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said "the
images of despair at Kabul airport shame the political West", referring to
chaotic scenes on Monday when thousands of Afghans desperate to flee swarmed
the runway at Kabul airport.
Flights resume
US forces took charge of the airport — their only way to fly
out of Afghanistan — on Sunday, as the militants wound up a week of
rapid advances by taking over Kabul without a fight.
US military flights evacuating diplomats and civilians
from Afghanistan restarted on Tuesday, the day after they were
suspended due to chaos at the airfield.
US troops had fired warning shots to disperse crowds and
people clung to a US military transport plane as it taxied for take-off.
Around a dozen flights left on Tuesday though French Defense
Minister Florence Parly said Taliban roadblocks at the airport was making
access extremely difficult.
Biden said he had to decide between asking US forces to
fight endlessly or follow through on a withdrawal agreement negotiated by his
predecessor, Republican Donald Trump.
"I stand squarely behind my decision," Biden said.
"After 20 years I've learned the hard way that there was never a good time
to withdraw US forces."
He blamed the Taliban's takeover on Afghan political leaders
who fled and its army's unwillingness to fight.
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