Taliban’s Mullah Baradar meets Martin Griffiths in Kabul

Kabul, Sep 05: Amid discussion over formation of a new Afghan government under Taliban rule, the insurgent group leader Mullah Baradar on Sunday met with Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, at the foreign ministry in Kabul.

Griffiths has assured that United Nations will continue its support and cooperation with Afghanistan, Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem tweeted.

Since the takeover, the Taliban have sought to recast the group as a different from its 1990s incarnation, when they last ruled the country and enforced strict controls across society. Women and girls were denied work and education, men were forced to grow beards, and television and music were banned.

Now, the world is waiting to see the face of the new government, and many Afghans remain skeptical. In the weeks since they took power, signals have been mixed: government employees including women have been asked to return to work, but some women were later ordered home by lower-ranking Taliban. Universities and schools have been ordered open, but fear has kept both students and teachers away.

Women have demonstrated peacefully, some even having conversations about their rights with Taliban leaders. But some have been dispersed by Taliban special forces firing in the air.

Kabul's streets are again clogged with traffic, as Taliban fighters patrol in pickup trucks and police vehicles - brandishing their automatic weapons and flying the Taliban's white flag.

Still, some signs of normalcy have returned: women are on the streets, schools have opened, and moneychangers work the street corners. Traffic police have returned to duty, and giant cement barriers sealing off upscale neighborhoods have been removed.