Taliban leader says group is on the verge of establishing “pure Islamic government” 

The Taliban’s leader Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada stated Tuesday that the group is on the threshold of “establishing a pure Islamic government” and warned the United States and the international community to take the Doha-agreement seriously and “stop creating further problems”.

He said in his Eid ul-Adha message: “Our Jihad was and continues to be for ending the occupation and establishing a pure Islamic government, therefore, we reassure our Mujahid and persecuted nation that their aspirations will not be betrayed.”

Akhundzada said the Taliban had fulfilled its obligations regarding signing an agreement with the United States in Doha and efforts towards launching intra-Afghan negotiations but that it was now up to “other parties to determine how they utilize this opportunity at hand”.

He pointed out that the prisoner release issue was key to “building trust” and “shortening the path” towards peace. 

He stated that although progress had been made with the US and its allies in terms of them having started to implement the Doha agreement by initiating the withdrawal of troops and handing over of five military bases, the US government must also “not create obstacles for ending of the longest war in American history with unwarranted remarks and propaganda”.

He warned the US that it needs to “properly execute its obligations”.

Elaborating on this, he said the ten-day prisoner exchange process timeline was extended to four months and objected to the continuing existence of blacklists and the carrying out of drone strikes, raids and artillery attacks on “unjustifiable grounds”.

He said these did not serve the interests of anyone nor could such actions play a role in winning the war. 

“Rather such actions are counterproductive and only birth more complications, hence, it becomes imperative that both the United States and the international community take this issue seriously and stop creating further problems.”

Akhundzada’s remarks come just a day after the UN released its latest report on civilian casualties, stating over 1,200 people had been killed in the first six months of this year.

The report identified anti-government armed groups, including the Taliban and Daesh as the main cause of the casualties.

Afghanistan’s Office of the National Security Council also responded to the report and said the Taliban were responsible “for the vast majority” of civilian casualties. 

In its statement, the NSC said: “We note the midyear report by UNAMA and underscore the government’s findings from the field demonstrate that the Taliban are responsible for the vast majority of the civilian casualties in Afghanistan, either directly or by creating an enabling environment for other terrorist groups to attack civilians.”

NATO also responded to the report and said on Twitter: “Unacceptable violence levels by the Taliban cause the majority of civilian casualties. Taliban insistence on violence risks harming the unique opportunity for peace. NATO calls on the Taliban to cease violence, live up to their commitments and enter intra-Afghan negotiations ASAP.”

The Taliban did however responded to the report late Monday. Their spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid said: “We strongly reject this report by UNAMA. The report has been written and published based on information provided by Kabul administration security organs and has failed to establish actual cases of civilian casualties.”