French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the Taliban regime that has taken over Afghanistan would be judged on their actions to preserve freedoms established in the country, leaving the door ajar to what he called “a different generation” of the group who ruled the country from 1996 to 2001, reports Politico.
His cautiously optimistic take followed an unprecedented Taliban press conference in Kabul Tuesday in which spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the Taliban wanted people to stay in the country.
He promised no reprisals against people who had worked with foreign governments — even as many Afghans who had worked as interpreters or security guards were hiding from the Taliban fighters who set up checkpoints across Kabul. “We have given amnesty to everybody, there is no revenge,” said Mujahid, adding that women would continue to have a role in society if they abide by Sharia law.
Referring to those statements, Le Drian said, “They said they wanted to gain respectability, honorability. They announced they would respect the rights gained in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. [Now] they need to demonstrate it.”