The Taliban leadership gathered this Saturday in Kabul to define the contours of an “inclusive” government in Afghanistan.
Taliban co-founder and number two, Abdul Ghani Baradar, arrived in Kabul on Saturday after spending two days in Kandahar, the cradle of the movement.
This mullah, who until then headed the political office of the Taliban in Qatar, will "meet jihadist leaders and political leaders for the establishment of an inclusive government," said a senior Taliban official. Other leaders of the movement have been seen in the Afghan capital in recent days, including Khalil Haqqani, one of the world's most wanted terrorists by the United States, who has pledged a $ 5 million reward for information. allowing its capture.
Pro-Taliban social networks have shown Haqqani meeting Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, considered one of the most cruel warlords in the country for having notably bombed Kabul during the civil war, between 1992 and 1996. Hekmatyar, nicknamed "the butcher of Kabul Was a rival of the Taliban before they took power between 1996 and 2001.
These same networks announced a few hours later "the allegiance" to their movement of Ahmad Massoud, the son of the commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, known for his opposition to the fundamentalist group.
Ahmad Massoud, who earlier this week asked the United States for arms to defend itself against the new power in his Panchir valley, northeast of Kabul, has not yet spoken officially on the subject.
Since Baradar's arrival on Afghan soil, the Taliban have assured that their reign would be "different" from the previous one (1996-2001), marked by its extreme cruelty, particularly towards women.
They repeated that they wanted to form an “inclusive” government, without going into details.
Chaos around Kabul airport
But six days after their takeover, the political future of Afghanistan worries less the international community than the evacuation, in the most total chaos, of thousands of Afghans.
This Saturday, the roads leading to Kabul airport continued to be congested.
Despite days of failure, thousands of families still gathered in front of the airfield, hoping to miraculously board a plane.
In front of them, American soldiers and an Afghan special forces brigade were on the lookout to dissuade them from invading the premises.
Behind them, the Taliban, accused of tracking down Afghans who had worked for NATO to arrest them and of restricting access to the airport they wish to leave at all costs, observed the scene.
This Saturday, the American embassy in Kabul called on its nationals to avoid approaching Kabul airport because of "potential security threats".
The gigantic evacuation operation in Kabul, described by Joe Biden as "one of the most difficult in history", has been mobilizing planes from all over the world for a week, in chaotic conditions, to evacuate through the airport from the Afghan capital of diplomats, other foreigners and Afghans fleeing a country fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
"I cannot promise what the final outcome will be" or that there will be no "risk of loss" in human life, declared the American president.
The United States, which plans to evacuate more than 30,000 Americans and Afghan civilians via its bases in Kuwait and Qatar, says it has already released more than 13,000 people since August 14.
Civil servants prevented from working
The pressure is growing to obtain the remaining places, while, according to a report by a group of experts working for the UN, the Taliban have "priority lists" of wanted Afghans, the most threatened being the officers of the United Nations. army, police and intelligence.
The report says the Taliban are carrying out "targeted visits" to wanted persons and their families.
On Saturday, officials were prevented from returning to work in public buildings by the Taliban, as the working week resumes on Saturday in Afghanistan, several of them said.
"I went to my office this morning, but the Taliban who was at the entrance told me that he had not been ordered to reopen," said Hamdullah, a Kabuli official.
"They told us to watch TV or listen to the announcement of the return to work on the radio," he added.
“The Taliban have closed all roads to the ministry.
They do not allow anyone to enter the building, ”said an employee of the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
“One of them told me to wait until the appointment of the new minister and his directors.
"
"They sent us home," confirmed an official from the Kabul town hall.
“I came with a lot of hope but left disappointed.
Since the Taliban took power on August 15, government buildings, banks, passport offices, schools and universities have remained largely closed.
Only a few private telecommunications companies have operated in recent days.
Since the collapse of the government, one of the main concerns of Afghans is to continue to receive a salary, which seems impossible without maintaining activity.
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