Peshawar: The Taliban have said they are looking at several models of governance, including an Islamic emirate, and will implement a form of government acceptable to the Afghan nation.
The insurgent group also expressed concern over Pakistan fencing its border (Durand Line) with Afghanistan, saying the Afghans did not agree to it.
Without announcing the date for government formation in the war-torn country, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the group was working on it on a war footing and would soon announce the implementation of a new system. He was specifically talking to a Pashto TV station based in Pakistan.
He said that since coming under the control of the government, he has started consultations with all the stakeholders. “We often interacted with politicians, scholars, religious and ex-mujahideen leaders. We also sent teams to the provinces to meet local leaders and scholars. All this effort was to know the plans of others and input from all sections of society. To bring about an inclusive system that is acceptable to all,” Mujahid said, adding that discussions on government formation are still underway.
Several Taliban leaders, who had meetings with Afghan leaders in Kabul, including former President Hamid Karzai and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, have left for Kandahar to brief Taliban chief Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada in Kabul about all the developments they had taken. place in the last two weeks. “The final decision in this regard will be taken by the Taliban chief (Haibatullah Akhunzada),” Mujahid said.
Asked about the group’s meeting with Troika-Plus in Moscow, where the US, Russia, China and Pakistan opposed the implementation of an Islamic emirate in Afghanistan, the Taliban’s chief spokesman said: “It is for the Afghans. Have to decide on the internal. The affairs of the country. We (the Afghan nation) reserve the right to decide whether to rename the country, bring in a new flag or keep the previous one and introduce a form of government. Not to the world Should be concerned about it and focus on the issues related to them.”
The Taliban, since the capture of Kabul, have been using the group’s white flag with religious inscriptions. They are using it in official settings and displaying it on buildings. There were several protests in Afghanistan over the flag dispute as several people were beaten up by the insurgent group for carrying the national flag after the Taliban came to power.
Pakistan has built a fence on the Durand Line, a 2,640-km-long land border it shares with Afghanistan. It passes through rugged mountains, densely forested valleys and narrow, rocky paths.
The project was strongly opposed by the previous Afghan government and there were several violent incidents between Pakistani and Afghan forces over the border dispute, resulting in many casualties. Pakistan had tried its best to convince the Taliban to accept the Durand Line as a permanent border, during the insurgent group’s previous regime, but the group’s top leadership was reluctant to agree.
“The Afghans are unhappy and oppose the fence. The new Afghan government will announce its position on this issue. The fence has divided people and families. We want to create a safe and peaceful environment on the border so that no one Barriers need to be created,” Mujahid said.
Mujahid said the Taliban had already captured three main gates of Kabul airport. “The last evacuation flights are on and airport charges will be handed over to us soon. Our reserve force is waiting for the US to exit,” he said. “The Kabul airport will remain operational. We have the technical know-how and we can run the airfield operations,” he claimed.
A Taliban spokesman said there was no threat from IS-K, the terrorist organization that carried out the deadly attack in Kabul on Thursday. “ISIS members in Afghanistan are Afghans. They have not come from Iraq or Syria.