Afghanistan Is Peaceful, Taliban Say
President Ashraf Ghani fled from the country on Sunday as the Taliban entered Kabul virtually unopposed, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed.
"Today is a great day for the Afghan people and the mujahideen. They have witnessed the fruits of their efforts and their sacrifices for 20 years," Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban's political office, told Al Jazeera TV.
"Thanks to God, the war is over in the country."
It took the Taliban just over a week to seize control of the country after a lightning sweep that ended in Kabul as government forces, trained for years and equipped by the United States and others at a cost of billions of dollars, melted away.
Al Jazeera broadcast footage of what it said were Taliban commanders in the presidential palace with dozens of armed fighters.
Naeem said the form of the new government in Afghanistan would be made clear soon, adding the Taliban did not want to live in isolation and calling for peaceful international relations.
"We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people," he said. "We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others."
A Taliban leader told Reuters they were regrouping from different provinces, and would wait until foreign forces had left before creating a new governance structure.
The leader, who requested anonymity, said Taliban fighters had been "ordered to allow Afghans to resume daily activities and do nothing to scare civilians".
Taliban officials said they had received no reports of any clashes anywhere in the country: "The situation is peaceful," one official said.
The Taliban controlled 90% of state buildings and fighters had been told to prevent any damage, the official said.
