The Taliban on Tuesday declared an amnesty across Afghanistan and urged women to join its government.
The Islamic group is trying to calm nerves across a tense capital city that only the day before saw chaos at its airport as thousands mobbed the city’s international airport in a desperate attempt to flee.
Aljazeera reports that the Taliban were very conscious of how they are perceived, as they try to reassure a “very nervous population.”
It said in recent weeks the Taliban had made gains across the country that some Taliban units in certain provinces have been accused of carrying out atrocities, human rights abuses, and war crimes. But the Taliban had distanced itself from such acts, adding that the group has also assured government employees to return to work without fear of recrimination.
A Western security official told Reuters news agency on Tuesday that evacuation flights from Afghanistan had resumed, as the Kabul airport’s tarmac and runway, which was controlled by United States
troops, was now clear of crowds.
Several people were reported dead in Monday’s chaos, including several people who clung to the sides of a jet as it took off.
The Taliban have meanwhile declared the war in Afghanistan over and a senior leader said the group would wait until foreign forces had left before creating a new governance structure, according to Reuters.
China said it was ready for “friendly relations” with the Taliban, while Russia and Iran also made diplomatic overtures.
However, United States President Joe Biden said he stood “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of unsuccessful war, and fired criticism at the country for failing to resist the Taliban.
Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands have sent evacuation plane to Kabul to help evacuate people from the country, as evacuation flights from Afghanistan resumed,
Russia has urged all ethnic groups in Afghanistan to gather for talks on the country’s future after the fall of its government to the Taliban on Sunday.
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said it was a positive sign that the Taliban has demonstrated willingness to take into account the position of other groups.
