The Taliban’s chief spokesman has firmly rejected Donald Trump’s push to “take back” Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
However the senior Taliban member mentioned his authorities had held talks with the US about reopening the Afghan embassy in Washington DC and the US embassy in Kabul.
He mentioned: “We have discussed this matter and we wish to see the embassies reopened both in Kabul and in Washington.”
‘A number of international locations privately recognise Taliban’
It’s 4 years because the Taliban swept to energy and solely Russia has formally recognised their authorities.
However Mr Mujahid denied that they’ve a “legitimacy problem”, claiming that many international locations privately had acknowledged their management.
“It is not only Russia that has openly recognised the Islamic Emirate. There are several other countries that have extended recognition, though not publicly.”
The Taliban authorities has more and more positioned restrictions on girls and women, and women over the age of 12 nonetheless can not attend college.
The Worldwide Legal Court docket has issued arrest warrants for 2 of the Taliban’s high leaders, together with the Supreme Chief, Haibatullah Akhundzada, accusing them of persecuting girls and women in Afghanistan.
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Sky’s Cordelia Lynch speaks to Zabihullah Mujahid
‘Cannot promise we are going to reopen secondary colleges for women’
Mr Mujahid, a detailed confidante of the Supreme Chief, wouldn’t commit as to if women will ever be capable of return to the classroom, although. “I cannot make any promises in this regard,” he acknowledged.
When the Taliban took energy, the ministry of schooling mentioned the closure of faculties could be short-term and vowed that they might be reopened as soon as it put in place insurance policies that might guarantee compliance with “principles of Islamic law and Afghan culture”.
4 years down the road, nevertheless, there may be nonetheless no plan to open the doorways of secondary colleges to women within the foreseeable future or enable younger girls entry to larger schooling.
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Sky visits Afghan ward the place infants are preventing for his or her lives
Taliban nonetheless cannot clarify 48-hour web shutdown
Just lately, Afghanistan was thrust right into a 48-hour web shutdown inflicting widespread disruption with banks closed, airways unable to function and extraordinary Afghans prevented from logging on or utilizing their telephones.
The Taliban’s spokesman mentioned he nonetheless was not conscious of why the blackout occurred and wouldn’t touch upon whether or not the federal government had ordered it.
“We have not received any official communication from the ministry of telecommunications. Therefore, we are not in a position to comment on the matter,” he mentioned.
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Sky Information in Kabul as web returns
Human rights activists claimed the shutdown was an act of censorship that harmed extraordinary Afghans, together with the ladies and women now reliant on learning on-line. It adopted earlier restrictions on entry to the web in sure provinces in Afghanistan – aimed toward “preventing immorality”.
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Cordelia Lynch speaks to the Taliban’s predominant spokesman
Nation has ‘seen indicators of restoration’
Afghanistan is in the midst of an financial disaster and has skilled extreme droughts.
However in a wide-ranging interview, Zabihullah Mujahid mentioned the nation had loved “relative peace and stability under a unified government” with extra safety and “visible signs of economic recovery”.
However malnutrition has soared within the nation, and 90% of kids underneath 5 are in meals poverty, based on UNICEF.
Mr Mujahid mentioned it was the “result of decades of conflict and two major invasions that devastated Afghanistan’s infrastructure and economy”.
Mr Mujahid rejected this as a standard sentiment, claiming that “men remain the primary providers” within the “vast majority of households”.
Ladies are not in a position to practice to be docs or nurses underneath the Taliban. The UN condemned the coverage as “profoundly discriminatory, short-sighted and puts the lives of women and girls at risk in multiple ways”. However the spokesman insisted the nation already had “a sufficient number of female doctors”.
It highlights as soon as once more the gulf between the Taliban’s insurance policies and the remainder of the world. However the management are assured that the nation has improved underneath their rule and that they are constructing enduring relationships with different nations that may guarantee their success.
“We have qualified Islamic scholars who will deliberate on this matter and find an appropriate solution in accordance with Islamic Sharia,” he mentioned.
