Taliban Declares ‘War Is Over’ As President Ghani Leaves Country
It took just a week for the Taliban to regain control of the country after a lightning strike in Kabul
Kabul: Taliban have declared the war in Afghanistan is over after they took control of the Presidential Palace in Kabul as President Ashraf Ghani left the country.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as Islamist militants entered the capital almost unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, while hundreds of Afghans were desperate to leave Kabul airport.
“Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen. They have seen the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years,” Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, told Al Jazeera TV.
“Thanks to God, the war is over in the country.”
It took just a week for the Taliban to regain control of the country after a lightning strike in Kabul, which ended up in the form of government forces trained and equipped by the United States and others at a cost of billions of dollars.
Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what they said about Taliban commanders in Rashtrapati Bhavan with dozens of armed fighters.
Naeem said the nature of the new regime in Afghanistan would be clarified soon, the Taliban did not want to remain isolated and called for peaceful international relations.
“We have reached what we wanted, which is the freedom of our country and the freedom of our people,” he said. “We won’t allow anyone to use our land to target anyone, and we don’t want to harm others.”
A Taliban leader told Reuters that the rebels were regrouping from different provinces and would wait for foreign forces to leave before forming a new regime.
The leader, who requested anonymity, said Taliban fighters were “ordered not to allow Afghans to resume daily activities and to do anything to intimidate civilians”.
“Normal life will continue in a much better way, that’s all I can say for now,” he told Reuters in a message.
The streets of central Kabul were largely deserted in the early hours of Monday as residents woke up thinking about their future.
“I am in a state of complete shock,” said Sherzad Karim Stankzai, who spent the night in his carpet shop trying to save it. “I know there will be no foreigners, no international people who will come to Kabul now.”
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