-Spokesman urges int’l community to reopen embassies in Kabul
-Says Taliban supporting China’s One Belt, One Road initiative
-Adds the war has ended, country is getting out of the crisis
-Pakistan hails Taliban’s will to join CPEC as encouraging
DM Monitoring
KABUL: The Taliban on Monday called for recognition of Afghanistan, saying the country “has the right” to be recognised while urging the international community to reopen their embassies in Kabul. “The war has ended, the country is getting out of the crisis. It is now time for peace and reconstruction. We need the people to support us,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul.
Addressing journalists at the press conference, Mujahid stressed that “Afghanistan has the right to be recognised”.
“The international community should open their embassies in Kabul,” he said. The Taliban spokesman also called upon military personnel who served under the previous regime to join the new force. “The Afghan forces who were trained in the past 20 years will be asked to rejoin the security departments alongside Taliban members.”
He said that any insurgency against their rule would be “hit hard”, after earlier saying they had captured the Panjshir Valley, the last pocket of resistance. “The Islamic Emirate is very sensitive about insurgencies. Anyone who tries to start an insurgency will be hit hard. We will not allow another,” Mujahid said. “Anyone who picks up arms and starts another resistance, without any doubts, will be our enemy. Three weeks after seizing power but with no government so far announced, the spokesman said an “interim” system would first be announced to allow for changes. “Final decisions have been taken, we are now working on the technical issues,” he said. “We will announce the new government as soon as the technical issues are resolved.” A key issue for the Taliban is the reopening of the airport in Kabul, which was the scene of a massive US-led evacuation plan that ended last week. Qatar has been working with the Taliban on getting the airport back up and running and, Mujahid said, “serious efforts” were underway to restore operations.
“Technical teams from Qatar, Turkey and UAE are working hard to repair the equipment,” he said, adding international flights would resume “soon”.
Since their sweep to power last month, the Taliban have been met with widespread condemnation from the international community, with many fearing the government will be similar to the brutal regime of 1996 to 2001 when they were first in power.
Following Mujahid’s press conference, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid on Monday hailed the Taliban’s desire to have Afghanistan incorporated in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as “encouraging”, saying “it is good” if the Taliban’s views about China were similar to that of Pakistan.
Addressing a press briefing in Islamabad, Rashid said CPEC was an economic lifeline for Pakistan, adding that “Pakistan is proud of its friendship with China and if the Taliban hold similar views, then it is really good.”
The minister made these remarks in response to a query from a journalist, who quoted the Taliban spokesperson as expressing desire and reportedly pressing for Afghanistan’s inclusion in the CPEC.
The Taliban had on Saturday also described China as its “most important partner”, saying Afghanistan looks to Beijing to rebuild the country and exploit its rich copper deposits as the war-ravaged country faces widespread hunger and fears of an economic collapse.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said the group supports China’s One Belt, One Road initiative that seeks to link China with Africa, Asia and Europe through an enormous network of ports, railways, roads and industrial parks.
The minister also revealed during the presser that suicide bombers in a Gwadar blast of Aug 20 and another explosion targeting FC convoy on Mastung Road in Quetta on Sunday had been identified, and said they had come from Afghanistan.
Two boys were killed and four others, including a Chinese national, injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up targeting a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in Gwadar on Aug 20, while four people had lost their lives and 20 were injured on Sunday in a suicide attack near a checkpost on Mastung Road in Quetta.
Rashid also said that India had 68 training camps in Afghanistan, which are now dysfunctional.
The minister reiterated that Pakistan supported peace, development and prosperity in Afghanistan, saying “the peace in the two countries is interlinked.”
Responding to another question, Rashid said Pakistan would take decisions about its side of Torkham, Chaman, while the Taliban had the authority to make decisions on their side. He, however, added that the [Pakistan] government would decide about those who were coming into the country without documents.
He said Afghans had assured their territory would not be used against Pakistan, while the latter also made the same assurance to its neighbours.
“However, in this country, there is BLA, Daesh and other terrorist organisations, but our Army has the capacity to deal with them effectively,” the minister added.
When asked about the visit of DG ISI to Kabul, Rashid responded that Gen Faiz dominated Indian media for two days. “It seemed as if he visited Delhi instead of Kabul,” he said. He insisted that Afghanistan was going to be the cynosure of world politics in days to come.
