Kabul won’t be attacked, assures Afghan minister as Taliban inches closer

From the Hindustan Times

Afghanistan’s acting interior minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said on Sunday that Kabul won’t be attacked and that the transition would happen peacefully, Afghan TV network Tolo News reported.

Acting Interior Minister Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal said Kabul will not be attacked and that the transition will happen peacefully. He assures Kabul residents that security forces will ensure the security of the city.

Mirzakwal’s televised statement to Tolo News follows claims by Taliban leadership that they won’t take the Afghan capital “by force” and that negotiations were on the government for a “peaceful surrender” of Kabul. Pajhwok Afghan News is saying much the same. 

The Taliban statement said the country’s capital Kabul was the largest and most populous city where no one’s life, property and dignity will be harmed and the lives of Kabulis will not be in danger.

The Taliban instructed all their militants to stand at the gates of Kabul and not to try to enter the city.

“We do not intend to take revenge on anyone. All those who have served in military and civilian sectors in the Kabul administration are forgiven and safe. All should stay in their own place and home and not try to leave the country,” Taliban said in a statement, accessed by various news agencies, and urged the Afghan civilians to not leave the country.

Despite the pledges, many rushed to leave the country through the Kabul airport, the last route out of the country as the Taliban laid siege on every border crossing.

It isn’t the taking of Kabul by force that many fear; it is  the return to life under the Taliban Sharia regime.