Afghan citizens can’t leave anymore: Taliban

Refugees queue up on the tarmac after disembarking from an evacuation flight from Kabul, at the Torrejon de Ardoz air base, 30 km from Madrid, on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Afghan citizens will not be allowed to leave the country any more by the ongoing US evacuation process, while also warning that Washington should withdraw all troops and contractors before the August 31 deadline and no extension would be possible.

Mujahid's remarks on Tuesday came as US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders that he aims to stick with his August 31 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan as long as the Taliban does not disrupt the ongoing evacuation operations or airport access.

Addressing a press conference here, Mujahid said that while foreign nationals could continue travelling to the airport, the huge crowds of Afghans that have gathered there in recent days should return home and would not face reprisals from the country's new rulers.

"The road, which goes to the airport, is blocked. Afghans cannot take that road to go to the airport, but foreign nationals are allowed to take that road to the airport," Mujahid said. "We are not allowing the evacuation of Afghans anymore and we are not happy with it either," he added.

A Marine with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command greets children during an evacuation at the Kabul airport, Afghanistan, on Tuesday. Pic/AP/PTI

The doctors and academics of Afghanistan "should not leave this country, they should work in their own specialist areas" Mujahid said, adding: "They should not go to other countries, to those Western countries." He also said that "there will be no extension for the ongoing evacuation" process by the US.

‘Will reach a peace deal in Panjshir'

The Taliban will reach a peace deal with resistance forces in the Panjshir province in near future, the movement's spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on Wednesday. "We are in contact with people of Panjshir. We are in talks with the elders, influencers, and Jihadist commanders. The talks will soon solve the problem without war. I am 80 per cent confident that there will not be a need to go to war. According to our information, a peace agreement will be reached soon," Mujahid told the Shamshad News outlet.

‘Taliban looking for girls over 15 for marriage'

In a moving report, a journalist who escaped from Afghanistan has described how life has taken a 180-degree turn for Afghan women after the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban. Hollie McKay, writing in The Dallas Morning News said the Taliban have been going house-to-house in the country, looking for women and girls over 15 for marriage.

‘Religious scholars will lead the govt'

The Taliban have said that religious scholars will lead the upcoming government in Afghanistan as the country's government collapsed over a week ago when the terror group seized Kabul, a media report said. At a gathering in Kabul, the Taliban said that their 20 years of struggle should not go in vain and religious scholars should take the lead and be the core of the upcoming government in Afghanistan.

China-Taliban hold 1st diplomatic meet

China has established its first diplomatic contact with the Taliban in Kabul after the militant group took control of Afghanistan and the two sides now have "unimpeded and effective communication", a Chinese official said on Wednesday. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war.

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