KABUL: The leader of the Taliban called for an end to foreign forces’ “occupation” of Afghanistan as a preliminary step to a settlement based on Islamic law that he said would bring unity to a country ravaged by decades of war.
In one of his first public statements, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada, who was named leader of the movement after the death of his predecessor Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in a US drone strike in May, said agreement was possible if the government in Kabul renounced its foreign allies.
“Your support and siding with invaders is like the work of those abhorrent faces who in our past history supported the Britons and the Soviets,” he said in a message ahead of Eidul Fitr.
He said the Taliban had a programme aimed at creating an independent and united country under Islamic law and told the Western-backed government in Kabul that “the doors of forgiveness and tolerance are open”.
“Our clear message is that we do not want a monopoly of power,” he said. “All Afghan tribes and races need each other.”
The statement came two days after a suicide attack that killed more than 30 newly graduated police cadets and wounded dozens more and less than two weeks after more than 20 people were killed in separate attacks in Kabul and the northern province of Badakhshan.
Peace talks broke down last year after it was revealed that Mansour had covered up the death of the Taliban’s founder Mullah Mohammad Omar two years earlier.
Efforts to revive them in a framework backed by Pakistan, the United States and China have so far failed.
The Taliban’s political office in Qatar, which has been a key point of contact in behind-the-scenes exchanges, would “continue its efforts with a view to resolving the Afghan issue”, Akhundzada said.
Pledging to continue on the course set by Mullah Mansour, he promised to strengthen justice, help the injured and the poor and guarantee the rights of women under Islamic law.
He told Taliban fighters not to harm Muslims or public facilities including hospitals, schools, bridges and public utilities and not to oppress areas under their control.
The Taliban chief also called on neighbouring countries to join the fight against the US, saying the presence of Americans would “harm our mutual interest” and “destabilise the whole region”.
“You are expected to join your voice with that of the Afghans to end the occupation or at least do not take steps which contribute to prolongation of presence of the Americans,” he said.http://www.dawn.com/news/1268790/taliban-chief-urges-foreign-forces-to-quit-afghanistan
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