Taliban prepare to reveal new government amid economic crisis

Afghanistan Taliban rulers were preparing to unveil their new government on Thursday, as the economy was on the brink of collapse more than two weeks after the capture of Kabul by the Islamist militia and the chaotic end of 20 years of war.

Taliban official, Ahmadullah Muttaqi said, a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace in Kabul.

The legitimacy of the new government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for the economy as the country battles drought and the ravages of a conflict that took the lives of an estimated 240,000 Afghans.

The Taliban have promised to allow safe passage out of the country for any foreigners or Afghans left behind by the massive airlift which ended with the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops on Monday.

However, Kabul airport still closed, many were seeking to flee overland to neighbouring countries.

Qatar Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said, “The Gulf state was talking with the Taliban and working with Turkey about technical support to restart operations at Kabul airport, which would facilitate humanitarian assistance and possibly more evacuations.”

British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab said he would be talking with regional countries about how to secure safe passage through third countries for people who want to leave Afghanistan.

“The prospects of getting Kabul airport up and running and safe passage for foreign nationals and Afghans across land borders are top of the agenda.”

The Taliban’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, is expected to have ultimate power over a new governing council, with a president below him.

The Taliban have tried to present a more moderate face to the world since they swept aside the U.S backed government and returned to power last month, promising to protect human rights and refrain from reprisals against old enemies.

The United States, the European Union and others have cast doubt on such assurances, saying formal recognition of the new government and the economic aid that would flow from that is contingent on action.

U.S. Undersecretary of State, Victoria Nuland said, “We’re not going to take them at their word, we’re going to take them at their deeds.

“So they’ve got a lot to prove, they also have a lot to gain, if they can run Afghanistan, far, far differently than they did the last time they were in power.”

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Kamila/Reuters