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Kabul, Afghanistan (AP) -The Taliban marched to Kabul’s international airport on Tuesday, hours after the last US withdrawal that ended the longest war in the United States. The Taliban leaders stood on the tarmac, secured the country, quickly reopened the airport, and promised to pardon the original enemy.
At the control show, the Taliban leader in a turban was adjacent to a rebel elite Badri unit as he walked across the garrison. The commando in camouflage uniform proudly took a picture.
Bringing the airport back into operation is just one of the major challenges the Taliban faces in governing a country of 38 million people who have survived billions of dollars in foreign aid for 20 years.
“Afghanistan is finally free,” Taliban chief Hekmatula Wasik told The Associated Press at the tarmac. “The military and civilian sides (of the airport) are with us and dominate. Hopefully we will announce our cabinet. Everything is peaceful. Everything is safe.”
Wasik also reiterated the Taliban’s pledge to urge people to return to work and provide general amnesty. “People have to be patient,” he said. “Slowly bring everything back to normal. It takes time.”
Only a few hours ago, the U.S. military had completed the largest airlift of non-combatants in history.
On Tuesday morning, signs of recent turmoil were still visible. At the terminal, rifling luggage and clothes were scattered on the ground, along with a bunch of documents. The bellows-shaped wire fence is still an isolated area while capsized and parked cars are blocking routes around private airports.
Vehicles carrying the Taliban ran back and forth along the only runway at Hamid Karzai International Airport on the military side of the airfield. Before dawn, heavily armed Taliban fighters walked through the hangar, passing some of the seven CH-46 helicopters used by the State Department for evacuation before becoming unusable.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid addressed members of the gathered Badri unit. “I hope you are very careful in dealing with the country. Our country is suffering from war and aggression and people have no more forgiveness,” he said. Said.
At the end of his remark, the Badri fighter shouted, “God is the best!”
In an interview with Afghan state television, Mujahid also discussed resuming operations at the airport. This remains an important method for those who want to leave the country.
“Our technical team checks the technical and logistical needs of the airport,” he said. “If you can fix everything yourself, you don’t need help. If you need technical or logistical assistance to repair the destruction, you may seek assistance from Qatar or Turkey.”
He didn’t elaborate on what was destroyed.
General Frank Mackenzie of the Marine Corps, the head of the U.S. Central Command, previously said that the military had disabled 27 Humvee and 73 aircraft and could not use them again. He said the military did not eventually blow up the equipment needed to resume airport operations.
Since the Taliban struck Afghanistan and occupied Kabul on August 15, the airport had seen a chaotic and deadly sight. At least 169 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel were killed in an Islamic State suicide bombing at an airport gate last week.
During the evacuation, US troops helped evacuate more than 120,000 US citizens, foreigners and Afghans, according to the White House. The Allies also evacuated their citizens and Afghans. But for everyone who went out, foreign countries and the United States admitted that they did not evacuate anyone who wanted to go.
After the night of seeing the Taliban triumphantly firing into the air on Tuesday, the guards were now strangely curious and wanted to somehow get on the plane.
“Twenty years later, we defeated the Americans. They have left and our country is now free,” said Mohammad Islam, a Taliban guard at the airport from Logar.
“It’s clear what we want. We want Shariah (Islamic law), peace and stability,” he added.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative who oversaw the US talks with the Taliban, wrote on Twitter that “Afghans are facing moments of decision and opportunity” after the withdrawal.
“The future of their country is in their hands. They will choose their path with full sovereignty,” he wrote. “This is also an opportunity to end their war.”
However, the Taliban has completely taken over the government and could face a series of major crises. Most of Afghanistan’s billions of dollars in foreign exchange reserves are currently frozen in the United States, putting pressure on the currently depreciating Afghan currency. Banks implemented withdrawal management for fear of deposits being made in the face of uncertainty. Civil servants across the country say they haven’t received their salary in a few months.
Abdul Maxud, a traffic police officer who worked near the airport for the past 10 years, said he hadn’t paid for the past four months.
“We continue to come to work, but we are not paid,” he said.
Medical equipment remains scarce while thousands of people fleeing the Taliban’s advance are living in a moody state. Large-scale droughts have also reduced the country’s food supply, making its imports even more important and increasing the risk of people becoming hungry.
The rights of women in the face of oppression under the Taliban’s previous rule are also at stake.
Schools reopened and dozens of elementary school students headed to a school near the airport on Tuesday morning. The Taliban ordered the school to be segregated, but it is often not forced by younger children.
“I’m not afraid of the Taliban,” said fifth-grade Masuda.
During the evacuation, US troops helped evacuate more than 120,000 US citizens, foreigners and Afghans, according to the White House. The Allies also evacuated their citizens and Afghans. But for everyone who went out, foreign countries and the United States admitted that they did not evacuate anyone who wanted to go.
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Akhgar reported from Istanbul. The Associated Press writer John Gambrel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed to this report.
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