Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Taliban show conciliatory face at first Kabul news conference

Share
KABUL -

The Taliban held their first official news conference in Kabul on Tuesday, promising to respect the rights of women, seek good relations with other countries and not to extract retribution on former members of the Afghan military.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the movement's main spokesman, echoed assurances from other Taliban officials who have sought to calm fears that the swift seizure of Kabul would lead to a repeat of the public executions and punishments that marked the movement's previous time in power two decades ago.

"We don't want to repeat any conflict, any war again, and we want to do away with the factors for conflict," he said through a translator. "Animosities have come to an end, and we would like to live peacefully. We don't want any internal enemies and any external enemies."

He said a new government would be formalized as soon as the unstable conditions in Kabul permitted.

The rights of women, one of the main focuses of international concern in Afghanistan, would be respected and they would be allowed to work and study and be active in society "but within the framework of Islam."

Promising an amnesty for former members of the Afghan army and police, he said translators and contractors who worked with international forces since 2001 would not be harmed.

"Nobody is going to harm you, nobody is going to knock on your doors," he said, adding that the Taliban hoped the large crowds of people frantically trying to board flights out of Afghanistan would stay and help rebuild their country.

He also pledged that Afghanistan, source of most of the world's heroin according to a U.N. drugs control agency, would be free of narcotics, asking the international community to help it develop alternative crops for farmers who have relied on opium poppies for their livelihood.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin – made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.