The Taliban aim to unveil a new governing framework for Afghanistan in the next few weeks, a spokesman for the Islamist movement said on Saturday, after the insurgents' swift takeover of the South Asian nation.
"Legal, religious and foreign policy experts in the Taliban aim to present the new governing framework in the next few weeks," the official told in an interview.
The Taliban have sought to present a more moderate face since last week's lightning takeover, but ruled with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001 before being toppled by U.S.-led forces for sheltering al Qaeda militants behind the Sept. 11 attacks.
The ongoing evacuation of US citizens and Afghan nationals who supported Americans over the last two decades is one of the largest and most difficult airlifts in history, US President Joe Biden said Friday. He had earlier pledged to bring back all Americans from the country, which descended into a state of chaos after the Taliban’s return to power.
The US government will retain a laser focus on its counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan, President Biden said, warning of a forceful response to any attack on American forces or disruption of its operations at the Kabul airport. “We’re also keeping a close watch on any potential terrorist threat at or around the airport, including from the ISIS affiliates in Afghanistan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticised the West for its stance on Afghanistan, saying that the Taliban’s rapid ascent to power has shown the futility of Western attempts to enforce its own vision of democracy. “It’s necessary to stop the irresponsible police of enforcing its own values on others and attempts to build democracy in other countries based on outside models without taking into account historic, ethnic and religious issues and fully ignoring other people’s traditions,” he said.
Also read: UN World Food Programme Warns 1 Out Of 3 Afghans At Risk Of Acute Hunger
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was on an official visit to Moscow, urged Russia to use its contacts with the Taliban to press for Afghan citizens who helped Germany to be allowed to leave Afghanistan.