The U.S. State Department has voiced concern about Afghanistan’s new Taliban government, not just because the new government is made up of members of a terrorist organization, but because the new government isn’t “inclusive.”
In a statement provided to The Hill, a State Department spokesperson said that even though the Taliban “has presented this as a caretaker cabinet,” America “will judge the Taliban by its actions, not words.”
The Taliban had claimed previously that it welcomed women in government roles, The Daily Wire reported.
But so far, the Taliban has not upheld that pledge. The terrorist organization announced a list of names of new government officials on Tuesday, which the State Department said “consists exclusively of individuals who are members of the Taliban or their close associates and no women.”
The State Department went on to say that it was “concerned by the affiliations and track records of some of the individuals.”
As The Hill reported, Afghanistan’s acting interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is “currently wanted by the FBI in connection with a 2008 attack on a Kabul hotel that left six people, including a U.S. citizen, dead.” The FBI originally “offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Haqqani’s arrest but increased the reward to $10 million later Tuesday,” the outlet added.
In mid-August, after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, a member of its cultural commission, Enamullah Samangani claimed that the new government would treat women fairly.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is ready to provide women with environment to work and study, and the presence of women in different (government) structures according to Islamic law and in accordance with our cultural values,” Samangani said, according to The Associated Press.
The State Department on Tuesday said the Biden administration would “continue to hold the Taliban to their commitments to allow safe passage for foreign nationals and Afghans with travel documents, including permitting flights currently ready to fly out of Afghanistan to agreed-upon onward destinations.”
“We also reiterate our clear expectation that the Taliban ensure that Afghan soil is not used to threaten any other countries and allow humanitarian access in support of the Afghan people,” the State Department added. “The world is watching closely.”
Under Taliban rule in the past, women were not allowed to go to school or even leave their homes without a male escort. Reports from Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover indicate the terrorist organization has not changed or become more moderate, as it claims. The Daily Wire reported in mid-August that a woman had been shot and killed by a member of the Taliban for not wearing a burqa. The Daily Wire also reported:
Taliban militants are reportedly conducting door-to-door searches in Kabul looking for Afghan government officials, military members, and others who worked with the United States and other western countries.
Taliban militants are also seeking out journalists. While the terrorist group has promised safety and publicly called for a “peaceful” transfer of power, refugees who flocked to Kabul prior to its fall said that the Taliban has already begun forced marriages and executions in outlying cities and towns.
“Taliban started door to door search looking for govt officials, former police & security forces members & those who worked for foreign countries NGOs or infrastructures in Afghanistan. At least 3 journalists’ houses were searched in the last hour. Kabul is now becoming deadly,” one Kabul-based journalist tweeted on Monday. “This is a game-changer for us all. Many have started counting their final hours of life in Kabul. Nobody knows what happens next. Pray for us.”