Formation of new govt in final stages

The Taliban said the formation of Afghanistan's new government is in its final stages, as US President Joe Biden vehemently defended his decision to end the two-decade war amid growing criticism.

"The government will take shape in the following few days," Anas Haqqani, a senior Taliban leader, told Al Jazeera. He added that it was still too early to say who will be part of the new cabinet.

"We have covered about 90 to 95 percent and we will announce the final outcome in the following few days," Haqqani said.

The Islamist group said it wants to form an "inclusive" government and that it has been talking to members of former governments to encourage them to join a new administration. It has also pledged to respect human rights and women's freedoms "within Islamic law".

The foreign minister of neighbouring Pakistan, which has close ties to the Taliban, said on Tuesday he expected Afghanistan to have a new "consensus government" within days.

The Taliban yesterday paraded some of the military hardware they captured during their takeover of Afghanistan.

A long line of green Humvees idled in single file on a highway outside Kandahar, the spiritual birthplace of the militant movement, many with white-and-black Taliban flags attached to aerials, an AFP journalist saw.

In footage posted on a pro-Taliban account of the build-up of the parade, a helicopter flew overhead, trailing the Taliban's standard beneath it as fighters wrapped in headscarves waved beneath.

At least one Black Hawk helicopter has been seen flying over Kandahar in recent days, suggesting someone from the former Afghan army was at the controls as the Taliban lack qualified pilots.

The United Nations warned, meanwhile, of a looming "humanitarian catastrophe", underscoring the daunting challenges that the Taliban face as they transform from insurgent group to governing power.

'EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS'

US President Joe Biden was nonetheless defiant. "This is the right decision. A wise decision. And the best decision for America," Biden said in an address to the nation.

For America, Biden argued, the only choice was "leaving or escalating", and called the evacuation as an "extraordinary success."

"No nation has ever done anything like it in all of history; only the United States had the capacity and the will and ability to do it," he said.

Biden, who has been savaged by critics for his handling of the withdrawal which saw the US and its allies evacuate more than 122,000 in just over two weeks, also said the US would continue the fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and other countries, and warned the Islamic State group: "We are not done with you yet."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, said the US' 20-year campaign in Afghanistan ended in "only tragedies, only losses."

It is "impossible to impose anything from outside", he said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain owed "an immense debt" to Afghans who worked with Nato forces as he announced "vital support" for those resettling in the UK.

Britain has opened talks with the Taliban over the "safe passage" of its remaining nationals and allies out of the country.

Qatar yesterday urged the Taliban to ensure "safe passage" for people still wanting to leave Afghanistan. "We stress on the Taliban the issue of freedom of movement and that there be safe passage for people to leave and enter if they so wish," Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told a press conference.

AFGHANS RUSH FOR BORDER

Many Afghans are terrified of a repeat of the Taliban's initial rule from 1996-2001, which was infamous for their treatment of women and girls, as well as a brutal justice system.

Crowds looking to flee Afghanistan flocked to its borders while long queues formed at banks yesterday.

With Kabul's airport inoperable, private efforts to help Afghans fearful of Taliban reprisals focused on arranging safe passage across the land-locked nation's borders with Iran, Pakistan and central Asian states, reports Reuters.

At Torkham, a major border crossing with Pakistan just east of the Khyber Pass, a Pakistani official said: "A large number of people are waiting on the Afghanistan side for the opening of the gate."

Thousands also gathered at the Islam Qala post on the border with Iran, witnesses said.

All eyes will now turn to how the Taliban handle their first few days with sole authority over the country amid resistance from fighters of the NRF, an anti-Taliban movement.

The Taliban yesterday called on fighters in the holdout bastion of the Panjshir Valley to lay down their arms, as the resistance movement said it had repulsed heavy attacks.

Since the fall of Kabul on August 15, mountainous Panjshir has been the only province to hold out against the Islamist group, although there has also been fighting in neighbouring Baghlan province between Taliban and local militia forces.

Under the leadership of Ahmad Massoud, son of a former Mujahideen commander, several thousand members of local militias and remnants of army and special forces units have been holding out against the Taliban.