Kabul: The Taliban on Monday declared that the war in Afghanistan was over, after the group took over the presidential palace in Kabul, with their deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar saying that they would try and provide a better life to the people.
“We will provide a better life for our countrymen”, Baradar was quoted as saying.
Baradar said the group would try to provide security and a prosperous life to the people of Afghanistan.
His statement comes as most foreign nations were scrambling to evacuate their diplomats, and other staff from Kabul, after the Taliban took over the country and the president, Ashraf Ghani, left the country. Thousands of Afghan people were headed out of the country, following the Taliban takeover.
The group has declared it will impose the stringent Sharia law, and declare the country as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Taliban negotiator Suhail Shaheen said that they have ordered their Mujahideen fighters not to enter peoples’ homes without permission.
“The Islamic Emirate has ordered its Mujahideen and once again instructs them that no one is allowed to enter anyone's house without permission. Life, property and honour of none shall be harmed but must be protected by the Mujahideen,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is reported to have released a senior Taliban leader, Mullah Mohammad Rassoul Akhund, from prison. Rassoul is a former member of the Taliban's leadership council and leader of a splinter group of the Taliban.
In another development, the Taliban released thousands of detainees from the National Directorate of Security (NDS) prison in Kabul. Among those released was Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, a former deputy head of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The Taliban have not yet declared control of Panjshir and Charikar, the capital of Parwan province. Otherwise, the whole of Afghanistan is in the hands of the Taliban.
The Taliban are reported to have shut down prisons in all areas and released prisoners. (UNI)