Jalalabad sees anti-Taliban fight
3 people killed in protests against the insurgents while more than a dozen others were left injured
Kabul, Aug. 18: At least three people were killed in anti-Taliban protests in the Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday, witnesses said, as the militant group tried to set up a government and Western countries stepped up evacuations of diplomats and civilians.
More than a dozen people were injured after Taliban militants opened fire on protesters in the eastern city, two witnesses and a former police official said.
The Taliban have promised peace following their sweep into Kabul, saying they will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.
The witnesses said the deaths took place when local residents tried to install Afghanistan’s national flag at a square in the city, some 150 km (90 miles) from the capital on the main road to Pakistan.
Taliban spokesmen were not immediately reachable for comment.
As the Taliban consolidated power, one of their leaders and co-founders, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, returned to Afghanistan for the first time in more than 10 years. A Taliban official said leaders would show themselves to the world, unlike in the past when they lived in secret.
“Slowly, gradually, the world will see all our leaders,” the senior Taliban official said. “There will be no shadow of secrecy.”
But thousands of Afghans, many of whom helped US-led foreign forces over two decades, are desperate to leave the country.
More than 2,200 diplomats and civilians have been evacuated from Afghanistan on military flights, a Western security official said on Wednesday.
“We are continuing at a very fast momentum, logistics show no glitches as of now,” the Western security official said. The Taliban held their first news briefing since their return to Kabul on Tuesday, suggesting they would impose their laws more softly than during their harsh 1996-2001 rule.
“We don’t want any internal or external enemies,” Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s main spokesman, said.
Women would be allowed to work and study and “will be very active in society but within the framework of Islam”, he said.
During their rule, also guided by sharia religious law, women were prevented from working, girls were not allowed to go to school and women had to wear all-enveloping burqas to go out and then only when accompanied by a male relative.
ONE OF the Taliban leaders and co-founders, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, returned to Afghanistan for the first time in more than 10 years. A Taliban official said leaders would show themselves to the world and not live in secrecy.