Taliban promise Afghans they will be able to travel

The Taliban promised Afghan citizens on Friday that they will be allowed to travel outside of the country after U.S. evacuations have ended provided they have proper documentation.

“The IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] delegation reiterated that every Afghan with legal documents can travel abroad and proper facilities will be provided to all Afghans for their travel after the opening of the civilian part of the Airport,” Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen tweeted on Friday.

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The IEA delegation reiterated that every Afghan with legal documents can travel abroad and proper facilities will be provided to all Afghans for their travel after the opening of the civilian part of the Airport.

— Suhail Shaheen. محمد سهیل شاهین (@suhailshaheen1) August 27, 2021

The announcement follows statements made earlier this week by Markus Potzel, Germany’s envoy on Afghanistan, who said that a senior Taliban official had reassured him Afghans would be able to take commercial flights out of the country past the U.S.’s Tuesday deadline.

Director Stanekzai assured me that Afghans with legal documents will continue to have the opportunity to travel on commercial flights after 31 August.

— Potzel Markus (@PotzelMarkus) August 25, 2021

The news may assuage fears from Afghans who are concerned about what the new Taliban rule will look like. The insurgent group has said that it will not go after Afghan citizens who assisted the U.S. during it occupation and will respect the rights of women under Islamic law. 

Still, many are increasingly skeptical that the Taliban will make good on their words as some remained, concerned that the nation may return to pre-2001 conditions. 

Earlier this month, the State Department’s second ranking diplomat acknowledged that she was aware of reports that the Taliban is making it difficult for Afghans to leave the country.

“We have seen reports that the Taliban, contrary to their public statements and their commitments to our government, are blocking Afghans who wish to leave the country from reaching the airport,” Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told reporters.

Upon obtaining an internal document from the United Nations, Reuters reported that the insurgent group’s members had beaten and threatened U.N. staff members.  

Additionally, multiple news outlets have also reported that the Taliban shot into a crowd of Afghans who had been lowering a flag previously raised by the insurgent group after it took over the Jalalabad region, and used batons to attack the civilians.