In his first sit-down interview with Western media outlets since the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan, one of the group’s leaders on Wednesday painted a portrait of a group intent on rebuilding a country ravaged by decades of war. .
“We want to build the future, and forget what happened in the past,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an interview with The New York Times. He dismissed widespread fears that the Taliban are already seeking revenge on those who opposed them and want to re-impose the harsh controls on women that made them notorious when ruling the country 20 years ago. had made.
The interview comes just a day after Mujahid warned women in Afghanistan that it may be safest for them to stay home unless more rank-and-file Taliban fighters are trained not to abuse them.
It was a remarkable acknowledgment of the many changes in Afghan society that greeted the Taliban when they re-entered a city they had not controlled for two decades.
Women are involved in many of those changes. Not only are they free to leave the house without companionship – they are dressed to see fit – they have also returned to school and jobs, and their images can be seen on everything from billboards to TV screens. .
On Wednesday, the Mujahid suggested that in the long run, women would be free to resume their daily routines.
An armed Taliban member watches a Taliban news conference on August 24, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (image/New York Times)
He said the concern that the Taliban would once again force them to stay in their homes or cover their faces was unfounded. He said the need for a male guardian, known as a mahram, was misunderstood with him. He said this only applies to travel of three days or more.
“If they go to school, office, university or hospital, they don’t need a mahram,” said Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesman.
He assured Afghans trying to leave the country – contrary to news reports based on his news conference on Tuesday including The Times – that people with valid travel documents would not be barred from entering the airport.
“We said those who do not have proper documents are not allowed to go,” the Mujahid said. “They need passports and visas to those countries, and then they can go by air. If their documents are valid, we won’t ask what they were doing before.
He also denied allegations that the Taliban were looking for former interpreters and others who worked for the US military, and claimed they would be safe in their country. And he expressed dismay at Western evacuation efforts.
“They should not interfere in our country and take away our human resources: doctors, professors and other people we need here,” the Mujahid said. “In America, they can become dishwashers or cooks. It’s inhumane.”
For the past decade, the Mujahid has been an important link between the militants and the news media, but it remained unblemished. On Wednesday, he gave interviews at the Ministry of Information and Culture as Taliban leaders and other Afghan power brokers engaged in lengthy discussions about the future shape of the country.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid during a Taliban news conference on August 24, 2021 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (image/New York Times)
Mujahid is being seen as the future Minister of Information and Culture. Fluent in both Pashto and Dari, the country’s major languages, the 43-year-old Mujahid describes himself as a native of Pakhtia province and a graduate in Islamic jurisprudence from Pakistan’s famed Darul Uloom Haqqaniya madrassa.
Despite the tense situation at the airport on Wednesday, where thousands of people gathered around most of the entrances, the Mujahid expressed hope that the Taliban would build good relations with the international community, in areas of cooperation around counter-terrorism, opium eradication and reduction. Pointing towards. of refugees in the West.
Although they sought to convey a more tolerant image of the Taliban, the Mujahid confirmed a report: Music would not be allowed in public.
“Music is forbidden in Islam,” he said, “but we are hoping that instead of pressuring people, we can convince them not to do it.”
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