In Afghanistan, Taliban announce “general amnesty” for civil servants – The HuffPost

Stringer. via Reuters

AFGHANISTAN – The Taliban on Tuesday announced a general amnesty for all state officials, calling on them to return to work, two days after taking power in Afghanistan, thanks to a lightning offensive.

“A general amnesty has been declared for all (…), so you should resume your lifestyle with full confidence”, indicated the taliban in a press release this Tuesday, August 17.

But for many Afghans, trust will be hard to gain. When they were in power (1996-2001), the Taliban had imposed an ultra-rigorous version of Islamic law. Women could neither work nor study, and thieves and murderers faced terrible punishments.

The movement is trying to change its image. Enamullah Samangani, member of the Taliban cultural commission, assured on Tuesday that they did not want women to be “victims” and that they “should participate in the government structure in accordance with Sharia law”.

“The structure of government is not entirely clear, but based on experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership and all parties should join in,” he said as well as relay Skynews.

While waiting in the streets, “people are afraid of the unknown,” a merchant in the capital told AFP on Tuesday. “The Taliban are patrolling the city in small convoys. They don’t bother anyone, but of course people are afraid ”. This did not prevent a small group of women from demonstrating on Tuesday in the streets.

Despite assurances from the Taliban, some reports seemed to suggest that they were continuing to search for government officials, with one witness saying that men of their own entered the house of one of these officials to take him by force.

A few hours earlier, President Biden had defended tooth and nail the decision to withdraw US troops from the country, despite scenes of distress Monday at Kabul airport, where thousands of people tried to flee the country.

See also on The HuffPost: After the arrival of the Taliban, the Kabul airport taken by storm