Kabul: A Taliban spokesman and negotiator said on Sunday that the extremist group is in talks with the aim of forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government” in Afghanistan. Suhail Shaheen said this after the Taliban took control of much of the country within days and entered the capital, Kabul, where the US is struggling to get back its diplomats and other civilians. Earlier, a Taliban official had said that the outfit would announce a new government from Rashtrapati Bhavan, but that plan seems to be shelved for the time being.
Afghanistan’s beleaguered president left the country on Sunday, joining thousands of fellow citizens and foreigners in a stampede as the Taliban advance. This marked the end of 20 years of Western experimentation aimed at rebuilding the country. The Taliban spread their legs across the capital and an official of the extremist group said it would soon announce the formation of the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ from Rashtrapati Bhavan in Kabul. It was the name of the country under Taliban rule before the terrorists were driven out by US-led forces after the 9/11 attacks.
The official gave this information on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media. A group of Taliban fighters is seen inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan in pictures aired by the Al-Jazeera news channel.
