Taliban to Release All Political Detainees
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The movement also promised to offer new positions to former government officials.
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A Taliban fighter patrols Kabul on August 17, 2021 (AFP).
The Taliban movement announced in a statement that it "will release all political detainees in the various states of the country, due to the general amnesty decision issued by the leader of the Islamic Emirate, Hibatullah Akhundzada."
An official in the movement said that "Taliban leaders are in dialogue with former government officials to ensure that they feel safe," at a time when the head of the Taliban's political office, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is holding meetings with tribal leaders in an effort to form a government.
Reuters quoted a Taliban official as saying: "We will offer positions in the new government to some members of the former regime," disclosing that consultative meetings are underway between the two parties.
During an interview with Reuters, Waheedullah Hashimi, a close member of the decision-making body of the Taliban movement said on Wednesday that the latter will communicate with former pilots and soldiers from the Afghan armed forces to join its ranks. Regarding the governing system, Hashimi considered democracy as out of the question, stating that the Taliban's political system of choice is clear: "It is sharia law and that is it."
On the other hand, at least 3 Afghans were killed and more than 10 were wounded in a shooting in the northeastern city of Jalalabad. Reuters quoted two witnesses and a former Afghan police official as saying that Taliban members opened fire during a march against the movement, as protesters tried to raise the Afghan flag.
It is noteworthy that the Taliban fighters entered the Afghan capital, Kabul, without a fight, pledging to "provide safety for all those working with the former Afghan administration."
