THE TALIBAN ‘seeks to build a political system and government in Afghanistan that would be approved by its people and accountable to people once the occupying foreign forces leave,’ a spokesman said on Monday.
‘The Islamic Emirate is determined to have a political system that is approved by our people and that our people feel comfortable under,’ Zabihullah Mujahid told Press TV.
He added: ‘(We want) a system that is accountable to the people; is accountable and meets the needs of the people.’
Asked about allegations that the group is focused on one ethnic group in Afghanistan to the cost of other ethnic groups, Mujahid said the Taliban has never acted on the basis of an ethnic mentality.
‘The Taliban do not have an ethnic mentality. We have all gathered under one mentality or mindset,’ he said.
‘In Afghanistan, the people who are with us have fought, sacrificed and come together.
‘We do not have tribes and we do not believe in it,’ he said, adding that it would be enough for Afghans to come together and become a single mass and a single force.
The Taliban spokesman emphasised, ‘Ethnic issues were fuelled here by the occupiers’ because they wanted to divide the Afghan people and pursue their own goals.
‘We, the people of Afghanistan, are brothers. All our people live here and they have the right to live, and that is enough … In Afghanistan, we do not give anyone the right to divide us on the basis of ethnicity.
‘Here … we respect (all ethnic groups) and all the ethnic groups of our country will live together and we will live together as one.’
Asked whether the Kabul airport attack by the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group had dashed Afghan people’s hopes in the ability of the Taliban to guarantee the security of the country, Mujahid responded negatively and said: ‘We assure you that the most recent explosion that took place is still being investigated to find out the main causes.’
The Taliban spokesman added: ‘The ground was prepared for this explosion.
‘Unfortunately, the American forces deliberately wanted to gather the people in a place and cause disorder for this incident to happen.
‘Several other incidents occurred and the American forces themselves fired and as a result, people were killed and trampled.
‘Our investigation into the main cause of this incident has begun.’
Mujahid stressed: ‘We can prevent the recurrence of such attacks. In 33 provinces of Afghanistan, people feel safe. People are safe and the property and dignity of the people are preserved.
‘We will increase our monitoring to find out if there are other small problems elsewhere.’
The Taliban spokesman also said that after the occupiers have left Afghanistan and the country is liberated, there will be no excuse for anyone or any group to operate under the name of Daesh or any other group.
‘We will ensure the security of the country and our message to those who act under the name of Daesh is to accept the fact that Afghanistan is no longer a war zone.
‘Foreign forces are leaving Afghanistan and there is no excuse left for us not to bring an end to the war and we make sure that such a thing will not happen again and we can stop it,’ he added.
Asked about the main concerns of the Taliban regarding their position in and acceptance by the international community and whether the group will take over Afghanistan’s seat in the United Nations, Mujahid said: ‘We are currently in a situation where other countries must have trust and understanding with us.
‘We, on our part, assure the whole world that we want to have good relations with everyone.’
He continued: ‘The worries and concerns that some countries have can be resolved through diplomacy, through the embassy and legal channels.
‘Putting pressure (on the new Afghan government) is not the solution.’
Mujahid added: ‘We send our messages to all countries, especially Western states like the United States and Europe, not to stand in our way. If there are concerns, there are diplomatic ways for us to resolve our differences.
‘Our opinion is the same as the rest of the Islamic world. Israel should be recognised as an aggressor and occupier entity, and … should be dealt with (as such).
‘This is an inter-Islamic issue and all nations and the Islamic world suffer from it.
‘This is also our pain. This is our complaint and we are on the same path with the rest of the Islamic world,’ Mujahid said.
The Taliban are poised to run Afghanistan again 20 years after they were removed from power by American forces following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, China repeated its call on the US to stop interfering in Afghanistan.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told American Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the US should take firm action to help the Taliban combat terrorism rather than acting selectively.
‘While respecting the sovereignty of Afghanistan, the US should take concrete action to help Afghanistan fight terrorism and stop violence, rather than playing double standards or fighting terrorism selectively,’ Wang said during a phone conversation initiated by Blinken himself on Sunday.
Warning that the ‘hasty withdrawal’ of US-led foreign forces from the war-torn nation could allow terrorist groups to ‘regroup and come back stronger,’ the top Chinese diplomat further emphasised that, in his opinion, the international community should engage with the Taliban and ‘positively guide’ them.
‘The United States, in particular,’ should work with the international community to provide economic and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, help the new rulers run affairs normally, maintain social stability, and stop the currency from depreciating and the cost of living from rising, Wang said.
According to the report, Wang’s remarks were in response to Blinken’s insistence that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) should speak in ‘a clear and unified voice to show that the international community expects the Taliban to ensure the safe evacuation of foreign citizens and the Afghan people’s access to humanitarian assistance, and to guarantee that Afghan territory cannot become a hotbed of terrorist attacks or a safe haven for terrorism.’
The Chinese foreign minister then pointed out that Washington is clearly aware of ‘the causes of the current chaotic situation in Afghanistan.’
He said that any action by the UNSC ‘should contribute to easing tensions instead of intensifying them, and contribute to a smooth transition of the situation in Afghanistan rather than a return to turmoil.’
During Sunday’s conversation, Wang reiterated that Beijing will consider how to engage with Washington based on its attitude towards China, stressing that if the US side hopes to bring bilateral ties back on the right track, ‘it should stop blindly smearing and attacking China, and stop undermining China’s sovereignty, security and development interests.’
Wang also told Blinken that China ‘resolutely opposes’ the so-called investigation report into the origins of Covid-19, and in no uncertain terms he called on Washington to ‘stop politicising the Covid-19 origins tracing, stop putting pressure on the World Health Organisation, and stop interfering with and undermining the international community’s solidarity against the pandemic.’
- Sunday’s ‘preemptive’ US drone strike in the vicinity of Kabul International Airport killed nine members of an Afghan family, including six children.
The US Central Command had previously claimed that the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack had targeted a potential attacker with the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and it continues to persist with that version of events.
On Saturday, the United States also struck a target in the western Afghan province of Nangarhar, similarly alleging that it was aiming at a Daesh target.
In attempting to justify such assaults, Washington has been citing last Thursday’s bombing of the airport’s perimiter by ISIS terrorists which killed 13 American ‘service members’ and at least 175 other people.
US President Joe Biden has vowed to avenge last Thursday’s attack, although he has pledged a complete withdrawal from the Central Asian country by yesterday following twenty years of occupation.
