GOVT FORMATION: TALIBAN PREP FOR EVENT AT PRESIDENTIAL PALACE
Speculation is rife about the make-up of a new government after an official said recently that women were unlikely to be included in the set-up
KABUL: Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers were preparing their government on Thursday, more than two weeks after their capture of Kabul brought a chaotic end to 20 years of war. Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace in Kabul and Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said a new government was a matter of a few days away.
The Taliban have promised safe passage out of the country for any foreigners or Afghans left behind by the huge airlift, which ended when US troops withdrew on Monday. But with Kabul airport still closed, many were seeking to flee over land.
KABUL: The Taliban said on Thursday they were close to forming a new government, while dozens of women held a rare protest for the right to work under a new regime that faces enormous economic hurdles and deep public mistrust.
The Islamist militants, who have pledged a softer brand of rule than during their brutal reign of 1996-2001, must now transform from insurgent group to governing power.
The announcement of a cabinet, which two Taliban sources told AFP may take place on Friday following afternoon prayers, would come just days after the chaotic pull-out of US forces from Afghanistan.
All eyes are on whether the Taliban can deliver a cabinet capable of managing a war-ravaged economy and honour the movement’s pledge of an “inclusive” government.
Speculation is rife about the make-up of a new government as a senior official said on Wednesday that women were unlikely to be included. Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai - a hardliner in the first Taliban administration - told BBC Pashto that while women could continue working, there “may not” be a place for them in the cabinet of any future government.
In the western city of Herat, some 50 women took to the streets in a rare, defiant protest for the right to work and over the possible lack of female participation in the new government. “It is our right to have education, work and security,” the demonstrators chanted in unison, said an AFP journalist who witnessed the protest.
One of the organisers of the protest, Basira Taheri, told AFP she wanted the Taliban to include women in the new cabinet. Taheri said, “We don’t see any women in their gatherings and meetings.”
In one spot of bright news, Western Union announced it was restarting money transfer services to the country. Many Afghans rely on remittances from relatives abroad.
Qatar, Turkey work with Taliban to reopen airport
Qatar is working with the Taliban to soon reopen Kabul’s airport, whose closure since the exit of US troops could pose major humanitarian challenges. A jet from the Gulf country was the first foreign aircraft to land in Kabul on Wednesday.
Also, Turkey said it was “evaluating” proposals from the Taliban on the airport, with the foreign ministry saying security “inside and outside” the facility remained the top priority.