Taliban cofounder arrives in Kabul as the group seeks to form a new government
- Abdul Ghani Baradar arrived in Kabul on Saturday to commence talks in forming a government.
- A top Taliban leader, Baradar returned to Afghanistan for the first time in over a decade this week.
- Former President Hamid Karzai is also playing a role in the negotiations, according to the NYT.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, a top Taliban leader, arrived in Kabul on Saturday to commence talks with former President Hamid Karzai and other politicians to form a government, nearly a week after insurgents seized the capital city, according to The New York Times.
Baradar, who returned to Afghanistan for the first time in over a decade, will be leading an effort to craft a framework for governing the country in the coming weeks.
Ahmadullah Waseq, deputy of the Taliban's cultural affairs committee, told The Times that Taliban officials are mostly having conversations among themselves.
"The negotiations are going on right now," he said. "Then we will talk with other parties to form an inclusive government acceptable to all Afghans. It is not clear when will we have a new government, but we are trying to announce it as soon as we can."
Baradar this week began his trek back to Afghanistan from Qatar, where he helped broker the withdrawal of US troops with former President Donald Trump during peace talks in Doha last year.
Many are watching him closely to see how the Taliban will rule the country in its current iteration, compared to the systemic oppression that defined society under their past reign.
When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, it was a highly secretive regime, and the country was governed through strict laws.
During the talks in the capital on Saturday, Baradar had meetings with militant commanders and individuals who were part of the ousted government under former President Ashraf Ghani.
According to a Taliban official, the government talks will continue for several weeks and then different groups will tackle the country's security and financial issues.
When the Taliban took control of Kabul earlier this week, they touted themselves as "moderate" and said they would build an "inclusive, Islamic government."
However, the group's first week of power has been marked by intimidation and revenge, as reports have come out revealing that Taliban fighters have gone door-to-door in search of those who worked with the US and killed the relative of a Deutsche Welle journalist in the country.
The chilling images of despair at the Kabul airport show thousands of Afghans seeking to leave the country for good as they fear for their lives under the Taliban regime.
Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay was at the airport on Saturday and witnessed harrowing scenes, including people at the front of a queue being "crushed to death."