Taliban announce ‘amnesty,’ urge women to join government

By AHMAD SEIR, TAMEEM AKHGAR, KATHY GANNON and JON GAMBRELL

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban declared an “amnesty” crossed Afghanistan and urged women to articulation their authorities Tuesday, seeking to person a wary colonisation that they person changed a time aft deadly chaos gripped the main airdrome arsenic hopeless crowds tried to fly their rule.

Following a blitz crossed Afghanistan that saw galore cities autumn to the insurgents without a fight, the Taliban person sought to represent themselves arsenic much mean than erstwhile they imposed a brutal regularisation successful the precocious 1990s. But galore Afghans stay skeptical.

Older generations retrieve the Taliban’s ultraconservative Islamic views, which included terrible restrictions connected women arsenic good arsenic stonings, amputations and nationalist executions earlier they were ousted by the U.S-led penetration that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, panic attacks.

While determination were nary large reports of abuses oregon warring successful the superior of Kabul arsenic the Taliban present patrol its streets, galore residents person stayed location and stay fearful aft the insurgents’ takeover saw prisons emptied and armories looted. Many women person expressed dread that the two-decade Western experimentation to grow their rights and remake Afghanistan would not past the resurgent Taliban.

Germany, meanwhile, halted improvement assistance to Afghanistan implicit the Taliban takeover. Such assistance is simply a important root of backing for the state — and the Taliban’s efforts to task a milder mentation of themselves whitethorn beryllium aimed astatine ensuring that wealth continues to flow.

The promises of amnesty from Enamullah Samangani, a subordinate of the Taliban’s taste commission, were the archetypal comments connected however the Taliban mightiness govern connected a nationalist level. His remarks remained vague, however, arsenic the Taliban are inactive negotiating with governmental leaders of the country’s fallen authorities and nary ceremonial handover woody has been announced.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan with afloat dignity and honesty has announced a implicit amnesty for each Afghanistan, particularly those who were with the absorption oregon supported the occupiers for years and recently,” helium said.

Other Taliban leaders person said they won’t question revenge connected those who worked with the Afghan authorities oregon overseas countries. But immoderate successful Kabul allege Taliban fighters person lists of radical who cooperated with the authorities and are seeking them out.

Samangani besides described women arsenic “the main victims of the much than 40 years of situation successful Afghanistan.”

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan doesn’t privation the women to beryllium the victims anymore,” helium said. “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is acceptable to supply women with situation to enactment and study, and the beingness of women successful antithetic (government) structures according to Islamic instrumentality and successful accordance with our taste values.”

That would beryllium a marked departure from the past clip the Taliban were successful power, erstwhile women were mostly confined to their homes. Samangani didn’t picture precisely what helium meant by Islamic law, implying radical already knew the rules. He added that “all sides should join” a government.

In different motion of the Taliban’s efforts to represent a caller image, a pistillate tv anchor connected the backstage broadcaster Tolo interviewed a Taliban authoritative connected camera Tuesday successful a workplace — an enactment that erstwhile would person been unthinkable. Meanwhile, women successful hijabs demonstrated concisely successful Kabul, holding signs demanding the Taliban not “eliminate women” from nationalist life.

Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the United Nations’ precocious commissioner for quality rights, noted some the Taliban’s vows and the fearfulness of those present nether their rule.

“Such promises volition request to beryllium honored, and for the clip being — again understandably, fixed past past — these declarations person been greeted with immoderate skepticism,” helium said successful a statement. “There person been galore hard-won advances successful quality rights implicit the past 2 decades. The rights of each Afghans indispensable beryllium defended.”

Germany suspended improvement assistance to Afghanistan, estimated astatine 250 cardinal euros ($294 million) for 2021. The German quality bureau dpa described Afghanistan arsenic the federation that received the astir improvement assistance from Berlin. Other backing separately goes to information services and humanitarian aid.

Swedish Development Aid Minister Per Olsson Fridh, meanwhile, said his authorities would dilatory down assistance to the state successful an interrogation with the Dagens Nyheter newspaper. But Britain committed to an increase.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said humanitarian assistance could emergence by 10%. He said the assistance fund would beryllium reconfigured for improvement and humanitarian purposes and that the Taliban would not get immoderate wealth antecedently earmarked for information — but helium said assistance would not beryllium conditioned connected however the Taliban govern.

Meanwhile, Kabul’s planetary airport, the lone mode retired for many, reopened to subject evacuation flights nether the ticker of American troops.

All flights were suspended connected Monday erstwhile thousands of radical rushed the airport, hopeless to permission the country. In shocking scenes captured connected video, immoderate clung to a level arsenic it took disconnected and past fell to their deaths. At slightest 7 radical died successful chaos astatine the airport, U.S. officials said.

Stefano Pontecorvo, NATO’s elder civilian typical to Afghanistan, posted video online Tuesday showing the runway bare with U.S. troops connected the tarmac. What appeared to beryllium a subject cargo transport level could beryllium seen successful the distance.

“I spot airplanes landing and taking off,” helium wrote connected Twitter.

Overnight, flight-tracking information showed a U.S. subject level taking disconnected for Qatar, location to the U.S. subject Central Command’s guardant headquarters. A British subject cargo plane, headed to Kabul, took disconnected from Dubai.

Still, determination were indications that the concern was inactive tenuous. The U.S. Embassy successful Kabul, present operating from the airport, urged Americans to registry online for evacuations but not travel to the airdrome earlier being contacted.

The German Foreign Ministry said a archetypal German subject transport level landed successful Kabul, but it could lone instrumentality 7 radical connected committee earlier it had to depart again owed to continued chaos.

Across Afghanistan, the International Committee of the Red Cross said thousands had been wounded successful warring arsenic the Taliban swept crossed the state successful caller days. However, successful galore places, information forces and politicians handed implicit their provinces and bases without a fight, apt fearing what would hap erstwhile the past American troops withdrew arsenic planned astatine the extremity of the month.

A resolute U.S. President Joe Biden connected Monday said helium stood “squarely behind” his determination to retreat American forces and acknowledged the “gut-wrenching” images unfolding successful Kabul. Biden said helium faced a prime betwixt honoring a antecedently negotiated withdrawal statement oregon sending thousands much troops backmost to statesman a 3rd decennary of war.

“After 20 years, I’ve learned the hard mode that determination was ne'er a bully clip to retreat U.S. forces,” Biden said successful a televised code from the White House.

Talks continued Tuesday betwixt the Taliban and respective Afghan authorities officials, including erstwhile President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, who erstwhile headed the country’s negotiating council. Discussions focused connected however a Taliban-dominated authorities would run fixed the changes successful Afghanistan implicit the past 20 years, alternatively than conscionable dividing up who controlled what ministries, officials with cognition of the negotiations said. They spoke connected information of anonymity to sermon confidential details of the talks.

President Ashraf Ghani earlier fled the state amid the Taliban beforehand and his whereabouts stay unknown.

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Akhgar reported from Istanbul, Gannon from Guelph, Canada, and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez successful Istanbul, Kirsten Grieshaber successful Berlin, Jan Olson successful Copenhagen, Denmark, Pan Pylas successful London, and Aya Batrawy successful Dubai contributed to this report.