Taliban representatives said at a press conference in Moscow that negotiations have resumed in Doha with the Afghan government. If the parties agree there, the Taliban say they want to agree to a ceasefire.
The Taliban are believed to have traveled to Moscow to reassure the Russian government. He fears that the fighting in Afghanistan will spill over to Tajikisan, a former Soviet state that counts Russia as its backyard.
All kinds of promises
At a press conference, Taliban representatives adopted a conciliatory tone. They claimed that provincial capitals will not be taken by force and that they will do everything they can to prevent Islamic State from operating on Afghan territory.
They also called on international aid organizations to remain in Afghanistan. The delegation went on to make all kinds of promises about ending drug production and respecting the rights of ethnic minorities.
The Taliban representatives also said that citizens have a right to education, but “within the framework of Islamic law and Afghan traditions”. Under the Taliban rule, from 1996 to 2001, girls’ education was banned.
Same ideology
The question is what will become of all these promises. When the Taliban dominated almost all of Afghanistan (1996-2001), they hosted the al-Qaida terrorist group and maintained a strict Islamic regime. Music and education of girls were prohibited.
Since the start of the Doha peace talks, last year, the position of women has deteriorated. The human rights organization Human Rights Watch the alarm bell rang about attacks targeting women and members of religious minorities. According to the Afghan and American governments, the Taliban were behind this.
“The Taliban have not changed, they still have the same ideology,” said women’s activist Rada Akbar in March. “They will again impose the same restrictions on women as when they were in power before.”
Departure Americans
The advance of the Taliban coincides with the departure of the international force that invaded the country 20 years ago, after the 9/11 attacks.
US President Biden said last night that the withdrawal of the Americans will be completed on August 31. 650 US soldiers remain behind to guard the US embassy and the international airport in the capital Kabul.
Biden said that now the Afghan army must ensure security in the country. He said he has every confidence in that. The estimated 75,000 Taliban fighters should be “no match” to the 300,000 Afghan security forces.
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