Kohdaman
Around 1,500 Taliban supporters attended a rally on Sunday in a vast field to the north of Kabul, in a show of strength as they consolidate their rule of Afghanistan.
No foreign government has yet recognised the former rebels’ rule, but their hold on power within the country is all but unchallenged seven weeks after they took the capital.
“This is the day we waited for,” said Khalil Haqqani, the new minister for refugees who in 2011 was named as a designated terrorist by the United States with a $5 million bounty on his head. He is a prominent leader of the Haqqani militant network founded by his brother Jalaluddin.
“We have achieved our goal, but it requires protection,” he said, with his rifle leaning against the lectern, said that the country has a “bright future” despite being shunned by international donors.
“My advice to the world is that they leave Afghanistan to Afghanistan.”
Flanked by Taliban fighters in combat gear carrying assault rifles, leading Taliban officials and commanders addressed an audience sat in rows of chairs under awnings, celebrating victory over the United States.
One speaker urged the crowd to “respect elders” because they were the “mujahids who fought against the Soviets” in the 1980s.
The crowd, made up only of men and boys, listened to speeches by leading Taliban officials and commanders at Kohdaman township in the hilly outskirts of the capital.
The rally was the first of its kind in the capital since the group seized control of the country seven weeks ago following a lightning offensive.
To kick off proceedings, a procession of fighters carrying flags and weapons, including rocket launchers, paraded around the crowd.
Some of the mainly unarmed supporters waved homemade posters, while others sported red or white Taliban headbands.
Tribal elders watched on cross-legged from the side of the stage. As people started arriving, music honouring the Taliban’s victories echoed around the site as dozens of heavily armed fighters in military combat fatigues stood guard. “America is defeated, impossible, impossible — but possible!” one song said.—AP/AFP
