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On Assumption , the Taliban took over Kabul.
With the capital in their hands, the hardline Islamist militant group completed their takeover of Afghanistan during a quick offensive that saw provinces and warlords hand over without a fight.
The siege came fortnight before the date the us had selected to finish its troop withdrawal, after a costly two-decade war. it’s now been a month since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Here’s everything that went on within the country since then.
The fall of Kabul
Despite the US and NATO pouring of many billions of dollars to create up the Afghan private security force , the Taliban seized nearly all of Afghanistan in only over every week .
On Assumption , the insurgents entered the outskirts of Kabul but remained outside the city’s downtown. consistent with the Associated Press, workers at the time fled government offices, and smoke rose over the town as embassy staff were seen burning important documents.
While the Taliban fighters remained on the outskirts, reports of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani leaving the country added more panic.
Ghani later said during a statement said that he fled to stop further bloodshed. “The Taliban have won with the judgement of their swords and guns, and are now liable for the honour, property and self-preservation of their countrymen,” he wrote during a Facebook post.
In a few hours, Al Jazeera aired visuals of Taliban fighters entering Afghanistan’s presidential palace. The group’s leadership, surrounded by dozens of armed fighters, addressed the media from the country’s seat of power, signalling a politician takeover.
Grim visuals from airport
As Taliban fighters moved round the corridors of the luxurious Presidential palace, thousands of Afghans wanting to leave the country thronged the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
Fearful that the Taliban would reimpose the type of brutal rule that each one but eliminated women’s rights, several Afghans lined up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings.
In visuals that stunned the planet , many were seen clinging to a US military transport plane because it taxied on the runway. Another video on social media showed several falling through the air because the aeroplane rapidly gained altitude over the town . Seven Afghan civilians were killed within the chaos at the airport.
Though the Taliban had promised a peaceful transition, the US Embassy suspended operations and warned Americans late within the day to shelter in situ and not attempt to get to the airport.
Many people watched in disbelief as helicopters landed within the US Embassy compound to require diplomats to a replacement outpost at the airport. The us rejected comparisons to the US pullout from Vietnam. In terms of international response, most countries said their primary focus was on evacuating their citizens who are stuck in war-torn countries.
On August 17, US President Joe Biden broke his silence and said that he stand by his decision to withdraw American troops. during a nearly 15-minutes long address, Biden said, “I am the President of the USA and therefore the buck stops with me.”
Two days later, a twin-suicide bomb attack outside the Kabul airport killed a minimum of 95 Afghans and 13 US troops. The Islamic State group later claimed responsibility for the killings.
US-led foreign forces eventually evacuated about 1,24,000 foreigners and at-risk Afghans, but tens of thousands were left behind.
Anti-Taliban protests
While thousands of Afghans were trying to escape Taliban rule, videos emerged on social media of alittle group of girls holding placards and demanding equal rights on the streets of Kabul. This was reportedly the primary agitation of its kind since the militant group seized control of the country.
More protests across the cities of Afghanistan also emerged on the occasion of the country’s Independence Day . At one demonstration within the city, about 200 people gathered before the Taliban broke it up violently.
It was an interesting display of defiance…It was also further evidence that while tens of thousands are now seeking escape, there have been more left behind and determined to possess a voice within the quite country during which they live,” a replacement York Times report remarked on the protest.
Meanwhile, faraway from Kabul within the Panjshir Valley, an anti-Taliban guerrilla movement began to make under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, the son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was one among the most leaders of Afghanistan’s anti-Soviet resistance within the 1980s and was killed in 2001, at the behest of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The region, located 150 kilometers northeast of the capital, Kabul, hosted some senior members of the ousted government, including the deposed vice chairman Amrullah Saleh and ex-Defense Minister Bismillah Mohammadi. Saleh has declared himself the caretaker president after ousted President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
“I will never, ever and under no circumstances bow to the Taliban terrorists. i will be able to never betray the soul and legacy of my hero Ahmad Shah Mas[s]oud, the commander, the legend and therefore the guide,” Saleh wrote on Twitter.
The Panjshir Valley has repeatedly played a decisive role in Afghanistan’s military history, as its geographical position almost completely closes it faraway from the remainder of the country. However, the Taliban in recent days have claimed victory over Panjshir.
New Taliban govt
On September 7, the Taliban named Mullah Hasan Akhund, an associate of the movement’s late founder Mullah Omar , because the head of Afghanistan’s new government on Tuesday, with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, head of the movement’s political office, as deputy.
Sarajuddin Haqqani, son of the founding father of the Haqqani network, designated as a terrorist group by the us , was appointed because the new interior minister.
In terms of structure, the new government in Kabul was almost like the one in Tehran in some ways. the highest religionist of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, was announced as Afghanistan’s arbiter , albeit he’s not a part of the govt .
According to a press release released after the cupboard appointments, Akhundzada instructed the new government to uphold Islamic rules and shariah in Afghanistan. within the statement released in English, Akhundzada also urged those responsible to guard the country’s highest interests, and to make sure “lasting peace, prosperity and development”.
In terms of education, the all-male interim government announced a group of rules to be followed by female students. the ladies are expected to follow a strict code as accepted by the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam and wear a hijab while attending classes, segregated from the male students. the govt has also advised that separate entrances be created for males and females.
Ever since the takeover, the Taliban seems to face daunting problems as they seek to convert their lightning military victory into a durable peacetime government.
According to Reuters, even after decades of war and therefore the deaths of tens of thousands of individuals , security has largely improved, but Afghanistan’s economy is in ruins despite many billions of dollars in development spending over the past 20 years.
The Kabul airport, which witnessed chaotic scenes in August, is claimed to be up and running with assistance from Qatari officials. the primary international commercial flight departed from Kabul airport last week.
However, very similar to in August, long lines are still seen outside banks, where weekly withdrawal limits of 20,000 afghanis (approx $200) are imposed to guard the country’s dwindling reserves.
Impromptu markets where people sell household goods for cash are reported to possess sprung up across the capital. However, buyers still remain briefly supply. “Thefts have disappeared. But bread has also disappeared,” one shopkeeper told Reuters.
