Taliban: Afghanistan won’t be used as terror haven… women will be allowed to work

The Taliban says Afghanistan will not be used as a base for terror activities, and women will be allowed to work.

There have been concerns about the retrogression of gains made on women rights over the past 20 years since the insurgent group took control of Afghanistan over the weekend.

The Taliban, when it first took over Afghanistan in the 1990s, barred women from working and attending secular schools; women were also confined to their homes and only allowed to leave in the company of male relatives.

But speaking during a media briefing on Tuesday, Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesman, said the group is committed to the rights of women under Islamic law, and that they will be allowed to work and study “within our framework”.

“We are going to allow women to work and study within our frameworks. Women are going to be very active within our society, but within the framework of Islam,” Mujahid said.

“They are going to be working shoulder to shoulder with us. We would like to assure the international community that there will be no discrimination.”

Mujahid further said no one will be allowed to use the territory of Afghanistan for attacks against any nation.

He said the group will not harm anyone, and that it is mostly interested in restoring peace and progress to the south Asian country.

“I would like to assure the international community that nobody will be harmed,” he said.

“We do not want to have any problems with the international community. We have the right to act according to our religious principles. Other countries have different approaches, rules and regulations; the Afghans have the right to have their own rules and regulations in accordance with our values.

“We will take very serious steps to improve our economy. We want to make sure Afghanistan is no longer a battlefield of conflict.

“We have pardoned all those who have fought against us. Animosities have come to an end. We don’t want any external or internal enemies.”

“In Afghanistan, I would like to assure our neighbours, our original countries we are not going to allow our territory to be used against anybody or any country in the world. So, the whole global community should be assured that we are committed to these pleasures that you will not be harmed.”

In a related development, Mullah Baradar, chief of the Taliban’s political office, has arrived in Afghanistan along with other senior persons of the group.

Baradar, a co-founder of the Taliban and one of its most senior leaders, has not set foot in Afghanistan in 20 years.