Russia has admitted that there is no alternative to the Taliban in Afghanistan, and dismissed resistance efforts as doomed.
Moscow’s ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov said the Taliban has made encouraging pledges.
He also praised the conduct of the Taliban in the days since its takeover of the capital.
Speaking to Reuters, Zhirnov said the security situation in the capital was much better than it was before the Taliban took control of it.
He also expressed optimism over the country’s future under the Taliban rule.
“The mood in Kabul is one of cautious hope”.
“There was a bad regime which disappeared and people are hopeful.”
“They say it can’t be worse so it should be better. But this is another test for the Taliban to pass. After they restore order, they should start improving the socioeconomic situation,” he said.
Rights Concerns
Zhirnov’s comments came in total contradiction with rights groups’ warning of Taliban’s violent approach.
In a new investigation, Amnesty International has said that Taliban fighters were responsible over Hazara men massacre.
The massacre took place between 4-6 July in the village of Mundarakht, Malistan district.
Six of the men were shot and three were tortured to death. One of them was strangled with his own scarf and had his arm muscles sliced off.
Amnesty International interviewed eyewitnesses and reviewed photographic evidence in the aftermath of the killings in the village of Mundarakht.
According to the report, the brutal killings likely represent a tiny fraction of the total death toll inflicted by the Taliban to date.
In this regard, Amnesty urged the UN Security Council to adopt an emergency resolution demanding that the Taliban respect international human rights law.
Moreover, it called on the UN Human Rights Council to launch “a robust investigative mechanism to document, collect and preserve evidence of ongoing crimes and human rights abuses”.
