Militiamen loyal to Ahmad Massoud, son of the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, push a vehicle during a training exercise, in Panjshir province, northeastern Afghanistan on Aug 30, 2021. The Panjshir Valley is the last region not under Taliban control following their stunning blitz across Afghanistan. Local fighters held off the Soviets in the 1980s and the Taliban a decade later under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Massoud, a guerrilla fighter who attained near-mythic status before he was killed in a suicide bombing in 2001. (JALALUDDIN SEKANDAR / AP)
The Taliban said international flights from Afghanistan will resume shortly as Qatar and Turkey help restart operations at Kabul airport and the group has complete control over the country with the last pocket of resistance in the north now defeated.
“Domestic flights have already started and we’re waiting to hear when we can start overseas flights,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said at a press conference in Kabul. “We plan to start overseas flights very soon.”
Restarting international flights and allowing safe passage to Afghans who wish to leave the country is key to the Taliban gaining international legitimacy. The other pledges from the militant group that the international community will watch out for are to allow women to work within the confines of Shariah law, and to prevent their land being used for terror activities.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed speaks during a press conference in Kabul on Sept 6, 2021. The Taliban on Sept 6, 2021 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. (WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP)
There have been some technical issues that delayed the formation of the new government … The issues will be resolved and we will soon then announce the government.
Zabihullah Mujahed, Taliban spokesman
Mujahed addressed a wide range of subjects at Monday’s press conference but gave no details on when the group would announce their new government.
“There have been some technical issues that delayed the formation of the new government,” he said. “The issues will be resolved and we will soon then announce the government.”
The Taliban have said they will be announcing their new ‘inclusive’ government soon. Their Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada will head any governing council and his deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar will likely be in charge of the daily functioning of the government, a member of the Taliban Cultural Commission, Bilal Karimi, said last week.
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The militant group has invited officials from Turkey, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and Qatar to participate in the ceremony that will welcome the new government, Afghan television channel 1TVNewsAF, reported citing Al Jazeera.
While all of those countries have extended varying degrees of support to the Taliban, on Monday Iran pushed back against the group’s capture of the northern Panjshir valley.
Saeed Khatibzadeh, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, criticized the Taliban for blockading the region and cutting off food, water and electricity supplies and urged the group to abide by both international law and its own promises to the Afghan people.
This AFP graphic dated Sept 6, 2021 shows the map of Afghanistan locating Panjshir Valley, where resistance to the Taliban has been organized.
Mujahed also said in Monday’s press conference that the Taliban’s victory over the northern Panjshir province has cemented the group’s complete control over Afghanistan and former vice-president Amrullah Saleh, one of the main leaders of the Panjshir resistance, may have fled to Tajikistan
Pakistan’s military spy chief, Faiz Hameed, arrived in Kabul over the weekend to meet with the Taliban leaders to discuss security, border issues and government formation.
The UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs Martin Griffiths also met with Baradar in Kabul over the weekend and promised that the international agency would continue to provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Mujahed also said in Monday’s press conference that the Taliban’s victory over the northern Panjshir province has cemented the group’s complete control over Afghanistan and former vice-president Amrullah Saleh, one of the main leaders of the Panjshir resistance, may have fled to Tajikistan.
READ MORE: Taliban takes over Kabul; Afghanistan president flees
Afghanistan’s trade and economy were slowly returning to normal after the last of the US troops left the country on Aug 31 and the Afghani currency is “under control and stable”, said Mujahed.
Technical teams from Qatar and Turkey are working to resume operations for the Kabul airport where the departing US troops had destroyed the radar system, while domestic flights have started and the plan is to start overseas flights very soon, according to the Taliban spokesman.
The Taliban said Afghanistan shouldn’t rely on foreigners to rebuild the country, especially those who were occupiers, and the US-trained Afghan forces have been invited to join the Taliban fighters, he added.