[Taliban fighters take control of Afghan presidential palace after the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, August 15, 2021 [Zabi Karimi/ AP]
Kabul: A day after taking over Kabul and almost all of Afghanistan, Taliban Monday announced the end of the 20-year long war.
The Taliban, who took over the reign of their country after former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled to Tajikistan Sunday, captured power, unlike widespread anticipation, with little resistance from the West-supported forces.
What also surprised the world that the transfer of power and Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan - barring some incidents of minor clashes, was peaceful and smooth.
Despite this and repeated assurances of safety and security by the Taliban - Afghanistan’s new ruler, panic-stricken residents rushed to airport to leave the Afghanistan capital. Videos and images viral on social media showed unruly scene at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul and people storming the parked plane.
Taliban forces recite Surah An-Nasr (The Victory) after entering Afghanistan’s presidential palace hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. pic.twitter.com/5bbJZkMZpt— 5Pillars (@5Pillarsuk) August 15, 2021
Taliban forces recite Surah An-Nasr (The Victory) after entering Afghanistan’s presidential palace hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. pic.twitter.com/5bbJZkMZpt
"Alhamdulillah - Thanks to God, the war is over in the country”, Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban's political office, told Al Jazeera TV.
"Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the Mujahideen. We have witnessed the fruits of our efforts and our sacrifices for 20 years”, he said.
“We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people,” he added.
Naeem also reiterated apt-repeated assurances that Taliban will not allow anyone to use Afghanistan to target anyone.
“We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others”, he said.
A number of reports, including US intelligence, had anticipated that Taliban will finally take over Kabul, but it will take at least three months. Taliban however captured – first rural areas of Afghanistan and later major provinces, in lightning speed.
They entered Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, after Ashraf Ghani fled the country with his family members and close aides.
Soon after the departure of Ashraf Ghani from Afghanistan, Taliban took over the control of presidential palace, and recited the verses from Holy Quran.
Images of Kabul on the first day under new Taliban rule, besides panic-stricken residents leaving the capital, also showed girl-students on their way to school.
Media reports citing Taliban sources late in the night Sunday said Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will be the new president of “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan”, though more details about the government formation is still awaited.
“Taliban did not want to live in isolation and said the type and form of the new government in Afghanistan would be made clear soon”, Taliban spokesman Naeem said.
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