Top Taliban Leaders Return Home
KABUL: AUGUST 18 – The group’s top leaders have returned home from Qatar since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
Some of the returning leaders were living in exile in Qatar.
One of the founders of the Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has also arrived in Afghanistan.
His return, which has led to months of negotiations on a US military return, has been hailed as a sign of a dramatic return.
He landed at Kandahar Airport on his way home.
Kandahar is, in the words of the Taliban, their sacred place of origin.
Kandahar was an important base for the Taliban until the US-led invasion 20 years ago.
Video footage shows several people coming to greet him as he leaves Kandahar Airport in a car.
Who is Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar?
Mullah Abdul Gani Baradar is one of four people who formed the Taliban in 1994.
He has been a key figure in the insurgency against foreign forces since the US-led coalition ousted the Taliban in 2001.
He was arrested in Karachi in 2010 during a joint US-Pakistani operation.
Until 2012, not much was known about him.
At the time, when the Afghan government talked about peace talks, his name was prominent on the Taliban’s list of prisoners to be released.
He was released by the Pakistani government in 2013.
He was most trusted and a close ally of former Taliban leader Mullah Omar. He was the second-largest Taliban leader to be arrested.
When the Taliban opened an office in Qatar in 2018 to negotiate with the United States, he was appointed as the Taliban’s political chief. He has always supported dialogue with the United States.
According to Interpol, Mullah Baradar was born in 1968 in Uruzgan province. He is believed to belong to the Durrani community.
American response
The United States, meanwhile, said in its first official statement since taking control of Afghanistan that it would review its commitment to respecting human rights.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the Taliban expressed its commitment to human rights, women’s rights and an independent press.
However, he acknowledged that their numbers were not enough to defeat Islam.
Spokesman Jabihullah Mujahid said he wanted to reassure the international community that no one was harmed.
She said she was committed to women’s rights under Sharia law.
The United Nations says the Taliban’s activities must be looked at first.
US President Joe Biden has spoken to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the situation in Afghanistan.
According to the White House, the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) will hold talks next week to work out a common strategy.
-BBC
