Taleban says it wants ties and trade with all countries, especially US

KABUL • Taleban co-founder Abdul Ghani Baradar said the group intends to establish relations with all countries, denying reports that it does not want ties with the US.

"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan wants diplomatic and trade ties with all countries, particularly with the United States of America," Mr Baradar wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

"We never talk about (the cutting) of trade ties with any countries. Rumour about this news has been propaganda. It is not true," he added.

Earlier in the day, reports said Mr Baradar had arrived in the Afghan capital for talks with other leaders about forming a new government. He returned to Kandahar from Doha, Qatar, last Tuesday.

On Saturday, a spokesman for the Islamist movement said "legal, religious and foreign policy experts in the Taleban" aim to unveil a new governing framework for Afghanistan in the next few weeks.

The Taleban follows an ultra-hardline version of Sunni Islam. It has sought to present a more moderate face since returning to power, saying it wants peace, and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.

When in power from 1996 to 2001, the militant group, guided by a harsh version of Islamic law, stopped women from working or going out without wearing an all-enveloping burqa. The group also stopped girls from going to school, among other restrictions.

Individual Afghans and international aid and advocacy groups have reported harsh retaliation against protests, and round-ups of those who formerly held government positions, criticised the Taleban or worked with US-led forces.

"We have heard of some cases of atrocities and crimes against civilians," the Taleban official said. "If (members of the Taleban) are doing these law-and-order problems, they will be investigated."

Ms Shabia Mantoo, a spokesman for the UN Refugee Agency, said at a press briefing in Geneva that while widespread fighting had decreased since the Taleban takeover on Aug 15, the full impact of the evolving situation was not yet clear.

The vast majority of Afghans were not able to leave the country through regular channels, Ms Mantoo said, adding that some 200 of her colleagues from the agency, both national and international, remained in Afghanistan.

Scenes of chaotic evacuation at Kabul airport over the past week have shocked the world.

Yesterday, the Taleban imposed some order around the airport, making sure that people formed orderly queues outside the main gates and not allowing crowds to gather at the perimeter, according to witnesses.

There was no violence or confusion, the Taleban said. Although it was early, there were long lines.

At least 12 people have been killed in and around the single-runway airfield since Aug 15, said officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Taleban. Some were shot and others died in stampedes, witnesses have said.

A Taleban official said security risks could not be ruled out, but that the group was "aiming to improve the situation and provide a smooth exit" for people trying to leave at the weekend.

US Army Major-General William Taylor said in the past week, the US evacuated 17,000 people, including 2,500 Americans, from Kabul. He added that in the past day, 3,800 people were evacuated on US military and chartered flights.

US President Joe Biden was yesterday set to provide an update on the evacuation of American citizens and refugees, the White House said.

The Pentagon said six commercial airlines had been ordered to provide passenger jets to help with the growing US military operation evacuating Americans and Afghan allies from Kabul.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has activated Stage 1 of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, created in 1952 after the Berlin airlift, to provide 18 airliners to help ferry passengers arriving at bases in the Middle East from Afghanistan, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

The current activation is for 18 planes: four from United Airlines; three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; and two from Hawaiian Airlines.

This is just the third time that the reserve air fleet has been activated. The first was during the Persian Gulf War. The second was during the Iraq War.

CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK, REUTERS, NYTIMES