In the hours following the departure of the last U.S. troops from Kabul, the Taliban held two press conferences, one at the Kabul airport and the second one at the studios of Afghanistan’s national broadcaster. According to various coverage of the two events, the Taliban leadership stressed a number of points, among them the following:
• “Now that our country is liberated, the economy is our next priority,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. He said that various measures will be carried out in the coming days. Promising to ensure their safety, Mujahid called on former government officials, businessmen and scholars who had fled the country to return, saying, “Let’s do it together.”
Another Taliban official, who was also at the press conference, echoed the call. “We need you. Your country and nation need you,” said Mufti Inamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s information and culture commission. “A united and stable Afghanistan is to the benefit of all and this region,” he said.
• The Taliban also pledged to work with foreign countries to ensure good relations. Mujahid said they want to have a relationship, based on international law and mutual respect, with the rest of the world, especially the United States, reported Ariana News. “The Islamic Emirate wants to have a diplomatic relation with the U.S. and to have a good relationship with all the world; strong diplomatic relations with the whole world, and to improve our relations in the future, and that they [foreign countries] do not consider us a threat,” Mujahid said.
