Hundreds of people gather outside the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021. (Photo: AP)
Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: The Taliban have pledged not to seek “revenge” against their opponents in Afghanistan in their first press conference since taking power, as the United States said they would hold the terrorists to their promises to respect human rights. The Taliban announcements came Tuesday after the return of their to Afghanistan of their co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
The Taliban have agreed to allow “safe passage” from Afghanistan for civilians struggling to join a US-directed airlift from the capital, US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser said on Tuesday after reports emerged of some civilians “being turned away or pushed back or even beaten” as they tried to reach the Kabul international airport.
Meanwhile, the Afghan vice president claimed that after President Ashraf Ghani fled in the face of the Taliban sweep into Kabul over the weekend and with his whereabouts unknown, the vice president is the country’s ‘legitimate’ caretaker president.
