Afghanistan: Taliban Declares ‘War Is Over’

The Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan over, after taking
control of the presidential palace in Kabul while Western countries
scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens amid chaos at the
airport as frantic Afghans searched for a way out.

President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the
Islamist militants entered the capital virtually unopposed, saying
he wanted to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans desperate
to leave flooded Kabul airport.

“Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the
mujahideen.

“They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their
sacrifices for 20 years,” Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the
Taliban’s political office, told Al Jazeera TV.

“Thanks to God, the war is over in the country,” he added.

It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the
country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government
forces trained for years and equipped by the U.S. and others at a
cost of billions of dollars, melted away.

Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what it said were Taliban
commanders in the presidential palace with dozens of armed
fighters.

Naeem said the form of the new regime in Afghanistan would be
made clear soon, adding the Taliban did not want to live in
isolation and calling for peaceful international relations.

“We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of
our country and the independence of our people,” he said, adding:
“We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we
do not want to harm others.”

A Taliban leader told Reuters the insurgents were regrouping
from different provinces, and would wait until foreign forces had
left before creating a new governance structure.

The leader, who requested anonymity, said Taliban fighters had
been “ordered to allow Afghans to resume daily activities and do
nothing to scare civilians”.

“Normal life will continue in a much better way, that’s all I
can say for now,” he told Reuters in a message.

Central Kabul streets were largely deserted early on a sunny
Monday as waking residents pondered their future.

“I’m in a complete state of shock,” said Sherzad Karim
Stanekzai, who spent the night in his carpet shop to guard it.

“I know there will be no foreigners, no international people who
will now come to Kabul.”

The militants sought to project a more moderate face, promising
to respect women’s rights and protect both foreigners and
Afghans.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for the Taliban
to uphold human rights and said the world was watching: “It’s going
to be all about the actions, not the words.”

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said early on Monday that
all embassy personnel, including Ambassador Ross Wilson, had been
transferred to Kabul airport, mostly by helicopter, to await
evacuation and the American flag had been lowered and removed from
the embassy compound.

Hundreds of Afghans invaded the airport’s runways in the dark,
pulling luggage and jostling for a place on one of the last
commercial flights to leave before U.S. forces took over air
traffic control on Sunday.

“This is our airport but we are seeing diplomats being evacuated
while we wait in complete uncertainty,” said Rakhshanda Jilali, a
human rights activist who was trying to get to Pakistan, told
Reuters in a message from the airport.

U.S. forces managing the airport fired into the air to stop
Afghans surging onto the tarmac to try to board a military flight,
a U.S. official said.

Dozens of men tried to clamber up onto an overhead departure
gangway to board a plane while hundreds of others milled about, a
video posted on social media showed.

The Pentagon on Sunday authorised another 1,000 troops to help
evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans who worked for them, expanding
its security presence on the ground to almost 6,000 troops within
the next 48 hours.

More than 60 western countries, including the U.S., Britain,
France, and Japan, issued a joint statement saying all Afghans and
international citizens who wanted to leave must be allowed to do
so.

Western nations, including France, Germany, and New Zealand said
they were working to get citizens as well as some Afghan employees
out.

Russia said it saw no need to evacuate its embassy for the time
being while Turkey said its embassy would continue operations.

In a Facebook post, Ghani said he had left the country to avoid
clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of Kabul
residents.

Some social media users branded Ghani, who did not disclose his
location, a coward for leaving them in chaos.

Many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to past harsh
practices in their imposition of sharia religious law.

During their 1996-2001 rule, women could not work and
punishments such as stoning, whipping, and hanging were
administered.

Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged all
parties to exercise the utmost restraint, and expressed particular
concern about the future of women and girls.

In Washington, opponents of President Joe Biden’s decision to
end America’s longest war, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks, said the chaos was caused by a failure of leadership.

Biden has faced rising domestic criticism after sticking to a
plan, initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, to end
the U.S. military mission by Aug. 31.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed Biden for what
he called a “shameful failure of American leadership”.

“Terrorists and major competitors like China are watching the
embarrassment of a superpower laid low,” McConnell said.

Naeem said the Taliban would adopt an international policy of
two-way non-interference.

“We do not think that foreign forces will repeat their failed
experience,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)

The Taliban declared the war in Afghanistan over, after taking
control of the presidential palace in Kabul while Western countries
scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens amid chaos at the
airport as frantic Afghans searched for a way out.

President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the
Islamist militants entered the capital virtually unopposed, saying
he wanted to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans desperate
to leave flooded Kabul airport.

“Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the
mujahideen.

“They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their
sacrifices for 20 years,” Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the
Taliban’s political office, told Al Jazeera TV.

“Thanks to God, the war is over in the country,” he added.

It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the
country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government
forces trained for years and equipped by the U.S. and others at a
cost of billions of dollars, melted away.

Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what it said were Taliban
commanders in the presidential palace with dozens of armed
fighters.

Naeem said the form of the new regime in Afghanistan would be
made clear soon, adding the Taliban did not want to live in
isolation and calling for peaceful international relations.

“We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of
our country and the independence of our people,” he said, adding:
“We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we
do not want to harm others.”

A Taliban leader told Reuters the insurgents were regrouping
from different provinces, and would wait until foreign forces had
left before creating a new governance structure.

The leader, who requested anonymity, said Taliban fighters had
been “ordered to allow Afghans to resume daily activities and do
nothing to scare civilians”.

“Normal life will continue in a much better way, that’s all I
can say for now,” he told Reuters in a message.

Central Kabul streets were largely deserted early on a sunny
Monday as waking residents pondered their future.

“I’m in a complete state of shock,” said Sherzad Karim
Stanekzai, who spent the night in his carpet shop to guard it.

“I know there will be no foreigners, no international people who
will now come to Kabul.”

The militants sought to project a more moderate face, promising
to respect women’s rights and protect both foreigners and
Afghans.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for the Taliban
to uphold human rights and said the world was watching: “It’s going
to be all about the actions, not the words.”

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said early on Monday that
all embassy personnel, including Ambassador Ross Wilson, had been
transferred to Kabul airport, mostly by helicopter, to await
evacuation and the American flag had been lowered and removed from
the embassy compound.

Hundreds of Afghans invaded the airport’s runways in the dark,
pulling luggage and jostling for a place on one of the last
commercial flights to leave before U.S. forces took over air
traffic control on Sunday.

“This is our airport but we are seeing diplomats being evacuated
while we wait in complete uncertainty,” said Rakhshanda Jilali, a
human rights activist who was trying to get to Pakistan, told
Reuters in a message from the airport.

U.S. forces managing the airport fired into the air to stop
Afghans surging onto the tarmac to try to board a military flight,
a U.S. official said.

Dozens of men tried to clamber up onto an overhead departure
gangway to board a plane while hundreds of others milled about, a
video posted on social media showed.

The Pentagon on Sunday authorised another 1,000 troops to help
evacuate U.S. citizens and Afghans who worked for them, expanding
its security presence on the ground to almost 6,000 troops within
the next 48 hours.

More than 60 western countries, including the U.S., Britain,
France, and Japan, issued a joint statement saying all Afghans and
international citizens who wanted to leave must be allowed to do
so.

Western nations, including France, Germany, and New Zealand said
they were working to get citizens as well as some Afghan employees
out.

Russia said it saw no need to evacuate its embassy for the time
being while Turkey said its embassy would continue operations.

In a Facebook post, Ghani said he had left the country to avoid
clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of Kabul
residents.

Some social media users branded Ghani, who did not disclose his
location, a coward for leaving them in chaos.

Many Afghans fear the Taliban will return to past harsh
practices in their imposition of sharia religious law.

During their 1996-2001 rule, women could not work and
punishments such as stoning, whipping, and hanging were
administered.

Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged all
parties to exercise the utmost restraint, and expressed particular
concern about the future of women and girls.

In Washington, opponents of President Joe Biden’s decision to
end America’s longest war, launched after the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks, said the chaos was caused by a failure of leadership.

Biden has faced rising domestic criticism after sticking to a
plan, initiated by his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, to end
the U.S. military mission by Aug. 31.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell blamed Biden for what
he called a “shameful failure of American leadership”.

“Terrorists and major competitors like China are watching the
embarrassment of a superpower laid low,” McConnell said.

Naeem said the Taliban would adopt an international policy of
two-way non-interference.

“We do not think that foreign forces will repeat their failed
experience,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)