taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid showing his face in public for the first time, making their messagear. translation: i reassure| all internationals, the un, all embassies, our neighbours, that we will not be allowing the soil of afghanistan to be used against anybody. we have given amnesty to everybody. there is no revenge. all those young people who have talent, who have got an education, we don't want them to leave. day by day, afghans come to terms with the taliban again. waiting, not for words, but for what will change in their lives. let's see what afghanistan brings. i want to stay here, i want to fight for my students. i want to fight for our vision of afghanistan. and i know things are never going to be the same any more. it'sjust i have to be here. and so far, some surprises. female presenters are still fronting popular news programs. a talib taking her questions. but many fear it's just a shiny new show for now. women are already taking to the streets. "we exist," they shout. "work, education, political participation, is our right." women make up half of afghan society. "do

the first press conference by a man who's long been a mystery: taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid showingace in public for the first time, making their message clear. translation: i reassurel all internationals, the un, all embassies, our neighbours, that we will not be allowing the soil of afghanistan to be used against anybody. we have given amnesty to everybody. there is no revenge. all those young people who have talent, who have got an education, we don't want them to leave. day by day, afghans come to terms with the taliban again. waiting, not for words, but for what will change in their lives. let's see what afghanistan brings. i want to stay here, i want to fight for my students. i want to fight for our vision of afghanistan. and i know things are never going to be the same any more. it'sjust...| have to be here. and, so far, some surprises. female presenters are still fronting popular news programmes. a talib taking her questions. but many fear it's just a shiny new show for now. women are already taking to the streets. "we exist," they shout. "work, education, political particip

taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid showing his face in public for the first time, making their messageslation: i reassure| all internationals, the un, all embassies, our neighbours, that we will not be allowing the soil of afghanistan to be used against anybody. we have given amnesty to everybody. there is no revenge. all those young people who have talent, who have got an education, we don't want them to leave. day by day, afghans come to terms with the taliban again. waiting, not for words, but for what will change in their lives. let's see what afghanistan brings. i want to stay here, i want to fight for my students. i want to fight for our vision of afghanistan. and i know things are never going to be the same any more. it'sjust i have to be here. and so far, some surprises. female presenters are still fronting popular news programs. a talib taking her questions. but many fear it's just a shiny new show for now. women are already taking to the streets. "we exist," they shout. "work, education, political participation, is our right." women make up half of afghan society. "don't upse

the taliban spokesman — zabihullah mujahid — tried to reassure the rest of the world afghanistan won'tused as a base for foreign fighters to spread terrorism. he also insisted women would be able to work, study, and be actively involved in society. twenty—thousand afghans are to be welcomed to the uk in the coming years as part of government plans to resettle people at risk of persecution by the taliban. the prime minister has pledged up to 5,000 can seek refuge this year saying the country owed them a "debt of gratitude". the authorities in haiti now say nearly 2,000 people are known to have died in saturday's powerful earthquake — an increase of 500 on the previous figure. the united nations children's fund estimates that around 1.2—million people in haiti have been affected, including 500,000 children. now on bbc news, another chance to enjoy the second part of rajan data's journey to india, originally broadcast in 2017. in this episode, he travels to the north—eastern state of assam. india. 70 years after independence, this emerging world power of more than a billion people, is sti

this is taliban spokesperson zabihullah mujahid. >> the enmity with parties to the conflict are over. we do not want to live in unity. without a doubt, we are historical juncture with the political system fits in and -- let's form inclusive government. at that moment there are discussis that are inclusive government should be formed and all parties d all parties in afghans should dissipate. -- should participate. amy: if you could respond to what the taliban said yesterday. clearly, there is enormous international pressure but the u.s. has been negotiating with the taliban for months, excluding the afghan government in doha, talking about women's rights, talking about protecting journalists -- people like you, i presume -- talking about respecting the opposition and granting immunity. >> well, it was interesting to see this elusive spokesperson, perhaps it was just the name committee people operating under the name for many years. there were some very difficult questions. for example, a reporter asked what he claimed responsibility for the assassination -- sitting in the same chair le

at a news conference in kabul — spokesman zabihullah mujahid addressed reporters — insisting there would people who'd worked for western nations; media freedoms would be protected; and women would enjoy rights "within sharia" law. he added "we do not want to have any problems with the international community." in other developments, military flights evacuating diplomats and civilians have re—started at kabul�*s airport. the uk's evacuation programme in afghanistan is "operating at full pace" — says the vice admiral sir ben key, who is in charge of the uk evacuation. britain aims to bring out between 6000 and 7000 people from afghanistan. the us says it's planning to evacuate up to 9,000 passengers, per day. the pentagon said, the taliban has not interfered with the us evacuation efforts out of kabul. local reports today showed the streets of kabul quiet, on the second full day of taliban rule. militants are out in force, manning checkpoints across the city. the bbc�*ss chief international correspondent, lyse doucet, reports. the republic has fallen, its leaders fled. taliban rule is retu

tonight, i met zabihullah mujahid, the taliban spokesman. the united states is evacuating and it is taking out americans who worked with u.s. forces but not everyone is going to be able to make it out. will you let those people leave in the future can you guarantee their safety >> translator: we don't want our countrymen to go to america. whatever they have done in the past, we have given them amnesty. we need young educated professionals for our nation, but if they want to leave it's their choice. >> reporter: what would you say to women, afghan women who are terrified? >> translator: they are our sisters. we must show them respect. they should not be frightened the taliban are humans and from this country. they have fought for their country. women should be proud of us, not scared. >> reporter: there are already reports of taliban fighters taking young women, unmarried women, as brides, forced brides. there have been reports of people going into homes >> translator: this is propaganda from the old regime we have no evidence of a single cas

in his first news conference, the taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid tried to reassure the rest of the world afghanistan won't be used as a base forforeign fighters to spread terrorism. he also insisted women would be able to work, study and be actively involved in society. the us says it will be looking to the taliban to make good on its pledge to respect human rights. g—7 leaders are to meet remotely next week to discuss a common stance towards the taliban. sanctions could be imposed if the taliban fail to honour their promises. the authorities in haiti now say nearly 2,000 people are known to have died in saturday's powerful earthquake — an increase of 500 on the previous figure. the united nations children's fund estimates that around 1.2 million people in haiti have been affected, including half a million children. now on bbc news, hardtalk. i'm stephen sackur. in the end, it wasn't about fire power or troop numbers. in afghanistan, the taliban had a vital asset, which the us and her allies lacked — strategic patience. two decades after they were expelled from kabul, the islam

taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid showing his face in public for the first time.aking their message clear. translation: i reassure| all internationals, the un, all embassies, our neighbours, that we will not be allowing the soil of afghanistan to be used against anybody. we have given amnesty to everybody. there is no revenge. all those young people who have talent, who have got an education, we don't want them to leave. day by day, afghans come to terms with the taliban again. waiting, not for words, but for what will change in their lives. let's see what afghanistan brings. i want to stay here, i want to fight for my students. i want to fight for our vision of afghanistan. and i know things are never going to be the same anymore. it'sjust...| have to be here. and so far, some surprises. female presenters are still fronting popular news programmes. a talib taking her questions. but many fear it is just a shiny new show for now. women are already taking to the streets. "we exist," they shout. "work, education, political participation, is our right." women make up

spokesman zabihullah mujahid addressed reporters, saying...oud moment for the whole nation" and insisted there would be no reprisals against people who'd worked for western nations, media freedoms would be protected and women would enjoy rights within sharia law. he added, "we do not want to have any problems "with the international community. " withn the last few hours, mullah abdul ghani baradar, the taliban's political leader of the taliban, has flown in from qatar to afghanistan's kandahar province along with a delegation. mullah baradar is a co—founder of the taliban and one of its most senior leaders. in other developments, military flights evacuating diplomats and civilians have re—started at kabul�*s airport. access to the airport is now controlled by the taliban — says the vice admiral sir ben key, who is in charge of the uk evacuation. britain aims to bring out between 6,000—7,000 people from afghanistan — and the us says it is planning to evacuate up to 9,000 passengers per day. pentagon spokesmanjohn kirby added that the taliban ha

. >> reporter: jake, we heard for the first time in person from the taliban spokesperson zabihullah mujahid. he gave a press conference tonight. and it was really interesting to see the types of questions that were asked by afghan journalists particularly. it really goes to show you how much has changed here in two generations or two decades, i should say. these journalists were not pulling any punches. they pushed him on women's rights. they pushed him on whether women would be able to continue working as journalists, continue working on television. and he was sort of struggling to answer and give a direct and coherent response. but the one question that really just stuck with me, it was so extraordinary. he was talking about this blanket amnesty that the taliban has granted to everyone. and this journalist stood up and says, but will the afghan people forgive you for all the people, the innocent civilians who have been killed in your car bombs, to which he applied, well, that's collateral damage, it happens. but the courage of that journalist to ask that question, to look him squarely in

taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid toured the site and spoke to fighters. he declared victory over the u.s. >> ( translated ): the u.s. aggression was a reckless act from the beginning. now they are defeated, and the afghan people won the battlefield and liberated their country. >> alcindor: susannah george is the afghanistan bureau chief f“" the washington post”. she is one of the last foreign journalists left in kabul. >> there weren't as many people out on the street, there weren't as many cars out on the roads. shops were open, taliban fighters were around, they were celebrating, handing out flags, calling today an independence day of sorts. but the city as a whole felt very quiet. >> alcindor: but across afghanistan, residents are anxious. the country is severely impoverished and heavily reliant on international aid. in the coming weeks, extreme food and cash shortages are expected to worsen. >> ( translated ): there are no jobs, that is why the people are worried. the taliban should try to create jobs and allow for more education. >> alcindor: susanna

these are live pictures from kabul, where taliban spokesman, zabihullah mujahid, is speaking.e them over the last 20 years, because they have been an organisation on they have been an organisation on the run, and persona non grata in afghanistan. this news conference is taking place at the moment, i guess we will be interested in finding out from the taliban what exactly is planned next for afghanistan. i don't even know at this stage whether or not they are taking questions from the journalist whether it is more like a press statement on a conference, but it will be interesting to see if they do so. in the last couple of years that halliburton has developed quite a sophisticated pr department, and it was not the case when they were ruling afghanistan, and it's what people are hoping is that people who have spent so much time out of afghanistan, an organisation that began as an insular organisation for the country alone will be one that is much more engaged with the outside world, and maybe some of the preoccupations might have moderated some of the hardline interpretation of

image, because there were sometimes on social media, some pictures were shared of so—called zabihullah mujahidare allowed to have education. so it is, yeah, as an afghan as a woman, it was quite revealing a lot. i saw a lot in that press conference.— i saw a lot in that press conference. :, : conference. how concerned were you, thou~h, conference. how concerned were you, though. about _ conference. how concerned were you, though, about everything _ conference. how concerned were you, though, about everything being i though, about everything being predicated on sharia law? and there was no real analysis of what that interpretation of sharia would mean? exactly. interestingly, he left that to the future government he was talking about forming, that his leaders are forming, so as an afghan woman, i think they are not giving any answers into what kind of rules they are expecting for women. it was interesting, when one female afghan journalist asked him a question, how do you want afghan women to appear if you are allowing them to be on media, he did not answer that question. he left it to, accordi

the man who appeared before the press, zabihullah mujahid told reporters there would be an amnesty fore who'd served the coalition. there were promises to honour women's rights to allow them to work, albeit within the group's interpretation of islamic law, and private media he said would be permitted to "remain independent". the group say they want the international community to accept the change of government and invest in the country. we will speak very shortly to man who until this weekend was in charge of afghanistan central bank. but first here's our chief international correspondent lyse doucet. the republic has fallen, its leaders fled. taliban rule is returning. day by day, its fighters more visible on the streets of kabul, patrolling with us military vehicles left behind or lost by government forces. taking on tasks to show they are in charge now, and showing the new face of afghanistan to the world. today the first press conference by a man who's long been a mystery, taliban spokesman zabiola mujahit, showing his face in public for the first time — making their message clear.

as martha said, we saw the taliban celebrating, zabihullah mujahid, spokesperson for the taliban, whoet a few days back held a conference at the airport this morning. he said, look, they want relations with america and the outside world but he also issued a warning to other foreign countries not to invade. i was sent a message by one taliban fighter who said there were three key dates, 1919, the defeat of the british empire, 1989, the defeat of the soviet union and now august 31st, 2021, what he called the defeat of the american and nato empires. the taliban are going to have a difficulty here. firstly because of isis. isis and the taliban are sworn enemies. they also released many isis fighters from prison and we should expect conflict there, but the country is in the middle of an economic and humanitarian crisis and the taliban are going to have to deal with that and they're going to rely on the outside world to assist. but the final thought, of course, is for those left behind, the millions who believe the promises especially the women and girls, those who we said we'd get out and

taliban spokesman zabihullah mujahid is holding a news conference.een talking about the banks which he says are going to reopen. translation:— which he says are going to reopen. translation: controlling the city in the streets, these _ translation: controlling the city in the streets, these all _ translation: controlling the city in the streets, these all belong - translation: controlling the city in the streets, these all belong to - translation: controlling the city in the streets, these all belong to the i the streets, these all belong to the municipality of kabul and from today, we have started... the operation. workers are working on the streets. the other thing that people were waiting for... all district barriers that were in place today we have started removing them all. and of the city will be clear from the barriers. we had checkpoints, we had some barriers there, and the municipality of kabul has started its work seriously and we will be carrying this out all across afghanistan, in all cities and they will be cleared out and cleaned. also,