Deadly Jalalabad protests as Taliban consolidate rule

At least three people were killed in anti-Taliban protests in the Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday (Aug 18), witnesses said, as the militant group moved to set up a government and Western countries stepped up evacuations of diplomats and civilians.

There were also more than a dozen people injured after Taliban militants opened fire on protesters in the eastern city, two witnesses and a former police official told Reuters.

The deaths mar the Taliban’s efforts to consolidate Islamist rule and their promises of peace following their sweep into Kabul. They have said they will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.

The witnesses said that the deaths took place when local residents tried to install Afghanistan’s national flag at a square in Jalalabad, some 150km from the capital Kabul on the main road to Pakistan.

Taliban spokesmen were not immediately reachable for comment.

One of the Taliban’s leaders and co-founders, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, returned to Afghanistan for the first time in more than 10 years, and a Taliban official said the leaders would show themselves to the world, unlike in the past when they lived in secret.

“Slowly, gradually, the world will see all our leaders,” the senior Taliban official told Reuters.