Kabul: The Taliban has declared the war in Afghanistan is over after its fighters swept the capital Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The group also assured that foreign nationals in the country were safe.
Amidst news of scenes of chaos and panic at the international airport as hundreds of Afghans desperate to leave the country flooded the tarmac, there was an announcement that all commercial flights out of the country have been suspended. Even the Air India flight scheduled to leave for Kabul in the afternoon stands suspended.
A Taliban spokesman of the insurgent group stressed that there was no danger to embassies, diplomatic missions and foreign nationals in the Afghan capital, pledging that the militant group will maintain security across the country.
"We assure all embassies, diplomatic missions, institutions and residences of foreign nationals in Kabul that there is no danger to them," Xinhua news agency quoted Muhammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Doha, as saying on Sunday evening.
He stressed that the forces of the Taliban movement are tasked with maintaining security in Kabul and other cities in the country.
The announcement came as the Hamid Karzai International Airport was packed with tens of passengers awaiting flights out of the country who then took to the runway but found no plane and are still stuck there.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the insurgent group, said "the situation in Kabul is normal" and that its fighters "are busy providing security". In a Twitter post, Mujahid also said the Taliban has deployed special units to different parts of Kabul and that the "general public is happy with the arrival of the Mujahideen and satisfied with the security".
Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for Taliban's political office in Doha, also told Al Jazeera that the group did not want to live in isolation and said the type and form of the new government in Afghanistan would be made clear soon.
Naeem also called for peaceful international relations. "Thanks to God, the war is over in the country. We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people," he added. He also said that they "will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others".
The Afghanistan Islamic Emirate (AIE) has also asked people to cooperate with them in identifying and arresting those who impersonate them and rob people and property. In several video clips shot by the members of AIE show that looters and plunderers were arrested after people call them.
The UN Security Council will discuss the situation in Afghanistan later on Monday.
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