Taliban vow to respect women, despite history of oppression

By AHMAD SEIR, RAHIM FAIEZ, KATHY GANNON and JOSEPH KRAUSS

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban vowed Tuesday to respect women’s rights, forgive those who fought them and guarantee Afghanistan does not go a haven for terrorists arsenic portion of a publicity blitz aimed astatine reassuring satellite powers and a fearful population.

Following a lightning violative 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 strict signifier of Islamic regularisation successful the precocious 1990s. But galore Afghans stay skeptical — and thousands person raced to the airport, hopeless to fly the country.

Older generations retrieve the Taliban’s erstwhile rule, erstwhile they mostly confined women to their homes, banned tv and music, and held nationalist executions. A U.S.-led penetration drove them from powerfulness months aft the 9/11 attacks, which al-Qaida had orchestrated from Afghanistan portion being sheltered by the Taliban.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s longtime spokesman, emerged from the shadows Tuesday successful his first-ever nationalist quality to code those concerns astatine a quality conference.

He promised the Taliban would grant women’s rights wrong the norms of Islamic law, without elaborating. The Taliban person encouraged women to instrumentality to enactment and person allowed girls to instrumentality to school, handing retired Islamic headscarves astatine the door. A pistillate quality anchor interviewed a Taliban authoritative Monday successful a TV studio.

The attraction of women varies wide crossed the Muslim satellite and sometimes adjacent wrong the aforesaid country, with agrarian areas tending to beryllium acold much conservative. Some Muslim countries, including neighboring Pakistan, person had pistillate premier ministers, portion ultraconservative Saudi Arabia lone precocious allowed women to drive.

Mujahid besides said the Taliban would not let Afghanistan to beryllium utilized arsenic a basal for attacking different countries, arsenic it was successful the years earlier 9/11. That assurance was portion of a 2020 bid woody reached betwixt the Taliban and the Trump medication that paved the mode for the American withdrawal.

The Pentagon said U.S. commanders are communicating with the Taliban arsenic they enactment to evacuate thousands of radical done Kabul’s planetary airport. It said the Taliban person taken nary hostile actions there.

Mujahid reiterated that the Taliban person offered afloat amnesty to Afghans who worked for the U.S. and the Western-backed government, saying “nobody volition spell to their doors to inquire wherefore they helped.” He said backstage media should “remain independent” but that journalists “should not enactment against nationalist values.”

Kabul, the capital, has remained calm arsenic the Taliban patrol its streets. But galore stay fearful aft prisons and armories emptied retired during the insurgents’ expanse crossed the country.

Kabul residents accidental groups of equipped men person been going door-to-door seeking retired individuals who worked with the ousted authorities and information forces, but it was unclear if the gunmen were Taliban oregon criminals posing arsenic militants. Mujahid blamed the information breakdown connected the erstwhile government, saying the Taliban lone entered Kabul successful bid to reconstruct instrumentality and bid aft the constabulary melted away.

A broadcaster successful Afghanistan said she was hiding astatine a relative’s house, excessively frightened to instrumentality location overmuch little spell to work. She said she and different women bash not judge the Taliban person changed their ways. She spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that she feared for her safety.

A radical of women wearing Islamic headscarves demonstrated concisely successful Kabul, holding signs demanding the Taliban not “eliminate women” from nationalist life.

U.S. nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan said the U.S. and different governments volition not simply instrumentality the Taliban astatine their connection erstwhile it comes to women’s rights.

“Like I’ve said each along, this is not astir trust. This is astir verify,” Sullivan said astatine a White House briefing. “And we’ll spot what the Taliban extremity up doing successful the days and weeks ahead, and erstwhile I accidental we, I mean the full planetary community.”

Whatever their existent intentions, the Taliban person an involvement successful projecting moderation to forestall the planetary assemblage from isolating their government, arsenic it did successful the 1990s.

The European Union said it was suspending improvement assistance to Afghanistan until the governmental concern is much wide but that it would see boosting humanitarian aid.

EU overseas argumentation main Josep Borrell said the Taliban indispensable respect U.N. Security Council resolutions and quality rights to gain entree to immoderate 1.2 cardinal euros ($1.4 billion) successful improvement funds earmarked done 2024.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Britain mightiness supply up to 10% much humanitarian aid, but the the Taliban would not get immoderate wealth antecedently earmarked for security.

Evacuation flights resumed aft being suspended connected Monday, erstwhile thousands of radical rushed the airport. 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 the airdrome chaos, U.S. officials said.

On Tuesday, the Taliban entered the civilian fractional of the airport, firing into the aerial to thrust retired astir 500 radical there, said an Afghan authoritative who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium wasn’t authorized to little journalists.

The Taliban appeared to beryllium trying to power the assemblage alternatively than forestall radical from leaving. A video circulating online showed the Taliban supervising the orderly departure of dozens of foreigners.

The U.S. Embassy successful Kabul, present operating from the subject broadside of the airport, urged Americans to registry online for evacuation but not to travel to the airdrome earlier being contacted.

The German Foreign Ministry said a archetypal German subject transport level landed successful Kabul but took disconnected with lone 7 radical connected committee owed to the chaos. Another near aboriginal with 125 people.

U.S. President Joe Biden has defended his determination to extremity America’s longest war, blaming the accelerated Taliban takeover connected Afghanistan’s Western-backed authorities and information forces. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg echoed that assessment, portion saying the confederation indispensable analyse the flaws successful its efforts to bid the Afghan military.

Talks continued Tuesday betwixt the Taliban and respective Afghan politicians, including erstwhile President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, who erstwhile headed the country’s negotiating council. The Taliban person said they privation to signifier an “inclusive, Islamic government.”

The talks focused connected however a Taliban-dominated authorities would run fixed the changes successful Afghanistan implicit the past 20 years, alternatively than conscionable dividing up ministries, officials with cognition of the negotiations said connected information of anonymity to sermon the closed-door talks.

A apical Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrived successful Kandahar connected Tuesday nighttime from Qatar, perchance signaling a woody is adjacent astatine hand.

The vice president of the ousted government, meanwhile, tweeted that helium was the country’s “legitimate” caretaker president. Amrullah Saleh said that nether the constitution, helium should beryllium successful complaint due to the fact that President Ashraf Ghani has fled the country.

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