The highest Taliban chief on Saturday slammed President Donald Trump’s travel ban on Afghans, calling america an oppressor, as Afghanistan’s rulers search better engagement with the worldwide neighborhood.
The feedback from Hibatullah Akhundzada marked the primary public response from the Taliban because the Trump administration this week moved to bar citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, from coming into the U.S.
Trump’s government order largely applies to Afghans hoping to resettle within the U.S. completely, in addition to these hoping to go to America quickly, together with for college research.
Since returning to energy in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures, banned women from public places and education for ladies and ladies past the sixth grade. And although they’ve to date failed to realize recognition because the nation’s official authorities, the Taliban have diplomatic relations with a number of international locations, together with China and Russia.
A message from the chief
Akhundzada launched his message on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, also referred to as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” from the southern metropolis of Kandahar, the place he has arrange base however is never seen in public.
In a 45-minute audio recording shared by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X, Akhundzada denounced the Trump administration for imposing “restrictions on individuals.”
“Residents from 12 international locations are barred from coming into their land — and Afghans should not allowed both,” he mentioned. “Why? As a result of they declare the Afghan authorities has no management over its individuals and that individuals are leaving the nation. So, oppressor! Is that this what you name friendship with humanity?”
He blamed the U.S. for the deaths of Palestinian ladies and youngsters in Gaza, linking this allegation to the journey ban. “You’re committing acts which are past tolerance,” he added.
The Trump administration says the measure is supposed to guard U.S. residents from “aliens who intend to commit terrorist assaults, threaten our nationwide safety, espouse hateful ideology, or in any other case exploit the immigration legal guidelines for malevolent functions.”
It argues that Afghanistan lacks a reliable central authority for issuing passports or civil paperwork and lacks applicable screening and vetting measures. It additionally says Afghans who go to the U.S. have a excessive visa overstay fee.
Trump additionally suspended a core refugee program in January, all however ending assist for Afghans who had allied with the U.S. and leaving tens of 1000’s of them stranded.
The Taliban supply amnesty
Additionally on Saturday, the Taliban prime minister mentioned that each one Afghans who fled the country after the collapse of the previous Western-backed authorities are free to return house, promising they’d be secure.
“Afghans who’ve left the nation ought to return to their homeland,” Mohammad Hassan Akhund mentioned. “No person will hurt them.”
“Come again to your ancestral land and dwell in an environment of peace,” the Taliban prime minister mentioned in a message on X and instructed officers to make sure returning refugees got shelter and assist.
He additionally used the event to criticize the media for making what he mentioned have been “false judgements” about Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and their insurance policies.
“We should not enable the torch of the Islamic system to be extinguished,” he mentioned. “The media ought to keep away from false judgments and shouldn’t decrease the accomplishments of the system. Whereas challenges exist, we should stay vigilant.”
The return of the Taliban rule
The Taliban swept into the capital of Kabul and seized most of Afghanistan in a blitz in mid-August 2021 because the U.S. and NATO forces have been within the final weeks of their pullout from the nation after 20 years of struggle.
The offensive prompted a mass exodus, with tens of 1000’s of Afghans thronging the airport in chaotic scenes, hoping for a flight out on the U.S. navy airlift. Folks additionally fled throughout the border, to neighboring Iran and Pakistan.
Amongst these escaping the brand new Taliban rulers have been additionally former authorities officers, journalists, activists, those that had helped the U.S. throughout its campaign against the Taliban.
Individually, Afghans in neighboring Pakistan who’re awaiting resettlement are additionally coping with a deportation drive by the Islamabad authorities to get them in a foreign country. Virtually 1,000,000 have left Pakistan since October 2023 to keep away from arrest and expulsion.
