Ex-Prez Karzai asks Taliban to clear climate of fear; 'provide right services' to Afghans

Weeks after the Taliban announced the formation of government in Afghanistan, former President Hamid Karzai in an interview with The Sunday Times asserted that said the terrorist group should eliminate the prevailing climate of fear and instead try to provide a physically and mentally secure environment for the people. For the same, Karzai suggested the Taliban form a broad-based government comprising both men and women of the country. 

'Afghanistan needs govt that provides right services'

Hamid Karzai, who after the fall of Kabul was in continuous talks with the Taliban, said that  he had stressed on 'Afghanistan's values, and the values of the Afghans' since day one. The former President said, "I had emphasized on the right of the Afghans, including the right of the women to acquire education and work." He said that he had discussed at large the status of women in society. 

Expressing disappointment with the Taliban for not keeping their words, Hamid Karzai asserted that the war-torn country did not need the caretaker government, but a government that 'provides the right services, has good relations with the world, and allows people to live happily without fear or oppression'.

Taliban's 'inclusive government'

After promising to form an inclusive government, the Taliban on September 7 announced an all-male interim government for Afghanistan stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the U.S.-led coalition. At the top position of that of the Prime Minister stands Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, the chief of the Taliban's Rehbari Shura. Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund has two deputies in Mullah Baradar and Mawlavi Hanafi. The post of Interior Minister is taken by Sirajuddin Haqqani, who is the head of the feared Haqqani network that is blamed for many deadly attacks and kidnappings. He is the FBI’s most-wanted list with a $5 million bounty on his head. 

Since the time the new government has been formed the plight of the people living in Afghanistan has turned from bad to worse.  From Afghan civilians to former members of the government and the security forces as well as the journalists, the Taliban in the past few days has subjected all those who had in some way or the other tried to challenge their rule or proved to be a threat to their autocratic governance.