The Taliban has asked Afghan imams to counter negative media reports about the group during the first Friday prayers, as tens of thousands of people have attempted to flee the country since the hardline Islamist group seized Kabul on Sunday. The Taliban said they hoped imams across the country would promote the Islamic system’s benefits and call for unity.
The Taliban said the imams should “encourage our compatriots to work for the development of the country, not to try to leave the country,” and respond to “the enemy’s negative propaganda,” in a message released on Thursday. Protesters took to the streets of Kabul and other Afghan cities to deliver the message.
Afghans are attempting to flee the country after the government collapsed on Sunday. They are rushing to the airport to flee, fearful of the Taliban’s past brutal atrocities. The Taliban have adopted a more moderate stance, declaring that they seek peace, will not seek vengeance against old enemies, and will respect women’s rights within the framework of Islamic law. When they were in power from 1996 to 2001, they severely restricted women’s rights, staged public executions, and desecrated ancient Buddhist statues. In 2001, they were defeated in a US-led invasion.
According to a Norwegian intelligence report, the Taliban are rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people who worked with the previous administration or US-led forces that supported it. Some Afghan journalists have expressed their dissatisfaction with assurances that independent media would be allowed.
“Taliban are intensifying the hunt-down of all individuals and collaborators with the former regime, and if unsuccessful, target and arrest the families and punish them according to their own interpretation of Sharia law,” the report, compiled by the RHIPTO Norwegian Center for Global Analyses and seen by Reuters, said. “Particularly at risk are individuals in central positions in military, police and investigative units.”
As Afghanistan’s future hangs in the balance, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been evacuating their citizens. Since Saturday, the US State Department has airlifted more than 7,000 evacuees, according to the US State Department.
