BBC news presenter was stunned after she received the Taliban’s phone call while presenting world news for the channel. Yalda Hakim, who fled from her native place Afghanistan in the mid-1980s and settled in Australia, received the call of Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen on Sunday.
She answered the phone call and quickly put it in front of a microphone so that viewers could also listen to what the Taliban spokesman has to say. Suhail’s identity was confirmed by the BBC presenter and she proceeded to ask numerous questions related to the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan.
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During half an hour interview, Suhail promised to bring “peace” and said that the group is “servants to the people and of this country.”
Conversation between BBC reporter and Taliban spokesperson:
“OK, we have got the Taliban's spokesman Suhail Shaheen on the line,” Yalda said while adding, “Mr Shaheen, can you hear me?”
Suhail replied, “There should not be any confusion, we assure the people of Afghanistan in the city of Kabul that their properties and their lives are safe. There will be no revenge on anyone. We are the servants of the people and this country. Our leadership has instructed our forces to remain at the gate of Kabul, not to enter the city. We are awaiting a peaceful transfer of power.”
He further said that the transfer of power means to hand over the country to the ‘Islamic Emirates’ of Afghanistan. Further, he refused to rule out the former regime's former brutal repression methods, such as public executions and removal of limbs.
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Suhail further confirmed that women would have the right to education as well as work, but have to wear hijab.
Yalda was praised by colleagues for handling Taliban spokesman so efficiently. Fellow broadcaster Aasmah Mir called her ‘an absolute boss’ for the mindblowing interview.
Reporter David Shukman said she showed ‘phenomenal skill’ and the BBC's Australian correspondent Shaimaa Khalil said the interview was ‘must watch’.
She studied at Macarthur Girls High School in Parramatta and completed her journalism graduate degree from Monash University. Hakim received a cadetship at broadcasting network SBS before she moved to London and started a role at BBC in 2012.