The Taliban on Friday issued preaching guidelines to imams and preachers across Afghanistan, urging citizens not to leave the country for fear or other reasons.
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul last Sunday, photos and videos of thousands of Afghans fleeing Kabul airport in the hope of escaping Taliban rule went viral on social media.
According to reports, the Taliban have instructed imams and khateebs of mosques across the country during their Friday sermon to urge citizens not to leave Afghanistan and instead invest and work for its betterment.
The Taliban have urged imams to call people towards Islamic order and national unity.
Taliban urges Afghans to leave Kabul airport
Witnesses said the Taliban on Thursday urged a crowd of Afghans waiting outside Kabul airport to flee the country in the hope of going home, saying they did not want to hurt anyone.
The United States and other Western powers pressed for the evacuation of their citizens and some of their Afghan staff from the airport on Afghanistan’s Independence Day, which could lead to further protests against Islamists.
While Kabul has remained generally calm as Taliban forces entered the country on Sunday after a week of astonishing progress, the airport was in chaos as people rushed to exit the Afghan capital.
A NATO and Taliban official said 12 people had died in and around the airport since Sunday. The Taliban official said these deaths were either from gunshots or a stampede.
He urged people who do not have the legal right to travel, to go home. “We don’t want to hurt anyone at the airport,” a Taliban official said.
A western security official said about 8,000 people had been evacuated since Sunday. US forces are in charge of the airport while Taliban fighters patrol outside the perimeter of its walls and fence.
Witnesses on Wednesday said Taliban gunmen prevented people from entering the airport compound.
“It’s a complete disaster. The Taliban were firing in the air, pushing people, beating them with AK-47s,” said a man trying to escape on Wednesday.
A Taliban official said commanders and soldiers opened fire in the air to disperse the crowd. Eyewitnesses said the situation was more calm on Thursday.
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