Abdul Qahar Balkhi, from the Taliban's Cultural Commission, has spoken exclusively to Doğru Haber’s Muhsin Şenol.

Abdul Qahar Balkhi underlined that Afghan people want an Islamic government to be established in their country following the withdrawal of US troops and Taliban takeover of Kabul. Balkhi slammed the Biden administration for freezing Afghan assets, and described the decision as an “unfortunate step”. “Nobody has the right to usurp Afghanistan's financial assets. The US should immediately step back on this decision,” Balkhi said.

“There is no any support for ISIS among Afghan people”

Balkhi stated that some power groups wanted to make Afghanistan deal with its internal affairs and overshadow the Taliban’s victory through the attacks at Kabul Airport. “They targeted the peace of Afghanistan. There is no support for ISIS in Afghanistan. Because Afghan people don’t like extremist ideologies and groups. The random killings that were carried out under the surveillance of foreign occupation forces aimed to divide Afghanistan between ethnic and political lines and to undermine the peace and security of our country. I think the presence of ISIS will come to an end as soon as the withdrawal of the occupation forces is completed.”

“Afghan people want an Islamic government”

Underlining that the piety of Afghan people was a determining factor in their struggle against the occupation forces, Balkhi went on to say: “Afghan people demand genuine Islamic governance in their country. They have fought against two great powers for forty years. Our Muslim nation was, and still is, ready for any challenge and sacrifice to obtain this legal right.”

“Afghanistan's new governance model will be seen when the government is announced”

Without giving any details regarding Afghanistan’s governance model under Taliban rule, Balkhi said that they would soon announce the new government as well as the model of governance.

He emphasized that his group wanted to establish good relations with all neighboring countries, adding: “We want to have close and good relations based on mutual respect and interests with all neighboring, regional and world countries, especially Muslim countries. We hope to have strong diplomatic and economic relations with all countries.”

“Opium production soared in Afghanistan after US occupation”

Stating that there were links between US occupation and opium production in Afghanistan, the Taliban official said: “During the previous Taliban rule, we completely eliminated opium production and drug trafficking. According to the reports released by many international organizations, there was a large explosion in opium production in Afghanistan with the participation of former regime’s officials as well as foreign actors.”

“There will be zero tolerance for poppy production and drug trafficking”

Balkhi said that the Taliban government might come under pressure after banning poppy production in the country. “We have declared our zero-tolerance policy for poppy production and drug trafficking and have called on all the countries to cooperate with us in providing alternative livelihoods to poor farmers.”

“Nobody has the right to usurp Afghanistan's financial assets”

Slamming the Biden administration for freezing Afghanistan’s assets, the Taliban official continued his remarks as follows: “The Biden administration froze Afghanistan government reserves held in US bank accounts. This is an unfortunate situation. The assets belong to all Afghan people. The US should immediately step back on this decision”

“The banks have reopened and life has turned to normal in Afghanistan”

Touching on the current economic conditions and new economic model in Afghanistan, Balkhi said: “Our officials have ordered banks to reopen. Some banks are open now. The others will reopen in the not-too-distant future. We are now working on a new economic model and future economic policies.” (ILKHA)