Former Afghan Government's Collapse 'Damaged' Country, Taliban Spokesman Says

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2021) The fall of Afghanistan's previous government had a negative effect on the situation in the country and better have been avoided, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman of the Taliban (banned in Russia as a terrorist group) and the Afghan deputy culture and information minister, said.

"In my opinion, Afghanistan was damaged by it (collapse of former government) because if war was stopped and we reached a meaningful negotiation, the situation would have been better and different from now. And the result would have avoided the collapse of institutions and the fleeing of people from the country," Mujahid said in an interview with TOLO news.

He criticized Washington for encouraging countries not to recognize the new Afghan authorities and for withholding financial aid.

The Taliban came to power in Afghanistan after the seizure of the capital, Kabul, on August 15, which led to the collapse of the previous government and triggered mass evacuations of foreign workers and Afghan collaborators. The last standing province of Panjshir fell in early September, after which the Taliban announced a new all-male government, led by Mohammad Hasan Akhund, a former foreign minister during the previous Taliban rule, who has been under UN sanctions since 2001.

Mujahid told TOLO news that there could be some changes to the current Afghan cabinet, but concerns that some countries have expressed regarding certain members of the new government are unacceptable.