Taliban to introduce new government next week, wants to maintain relations with the West – PRAVDA.sk

The Taliban will introduce the new Afghan government next week, spokesman for the radical Islamic movement Zabiullah Mujahid told Reuters on Saturday.

According to him, the Taliban also wants to maintain diplomatic relations with the West. The spokesman expects the economic shocks and currency collapse that followed the Taliban’s seizure of virtually all of Afghanistan in mid-August in mid-August after a surprise and lightning offensive.

Mujahid spoke to Reuters as the US military began withdrawing from Kabul International Airport, overseeing the evacuation of both foreigners and Afghans fleeing the Taliban. The evacuation mission is due to end on August 31.

Read more US troops began withdrawing from Kabul airport

In a statement, Mujahid condemned the strike of a US drone in eastern Afghanistan, which killed two members of one branch of the Islamic State, according to the Pentagon. The terrorist organization claimed responsibility for Thursday’s suicide bombing, which resulted in the death toll of 13 members of the US military and dozens of victims from Afghan civilians.

Mujahide blamed the American side for not informing the Taliban in advance. According to him, it was also a “clear attack on Afghan territory”. At the same time, however, he called on the United States and other Western countries to maintain diplomatic relations with the new Afghan government even after the end of the evacuation mission.

In Kabul, people’s frustration with the economic problems caused by the fall of the domestic currency and rising food prices is growing. The banks are also closed two weeks after the Taliban took power. The Mujahideen believed that the economic difficulties would subside as soon as the new Taliban government took office.

Read more Washington has cut the Taliban off billions of dollars

According to the movement’s spokesman, new representatives have already been appointed to head the top state institutions, including the central bank or the ministries of health and education. The governors and police chiefs of almost all Afghan provinces have also been appointed.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations warned on Saturday that a wave of drought was threatening more than seven million people in Afghanistan. According to her, Afghans are also suffering from a covid pandemic, and many have been forced to flee their homes as a result of recent fighting.

The World Food Program said this month that about 14 million Afghans, about one in three people in the country, urgently needed food aid.