(15 Aug 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kabul - 11 August 2023
1. Various of Taliban police from Kabul 7th district in vehicles
2. Vehicles leaving the compound
3. Various of patrolling the city
4. Various of car and body searching
5. SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Najibullah Ahmadi, 7th district police officer:
“Thank God there is no threat, we are not facing any threats, our security forces, Mujaheddin, intelligence and all - whenever there were any threats the Mujaheddin have reacted on time.”
6. Various of police officers
7. Various of car and body searching
8. Various of patrol
9. Various of Taliban police in pick-up vehicles
STORYLINE:
The Taliban have settled in as rulers of Afghanistan, two years after they seized power as U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country following two decades of war.
The Taliban face no significant opposition that could topple them.
They have avoided internal divisions by falling in line behind their ideologically unbending leader.
They have kept a struggling economy afloat, in part by holding investment talks with capital-rich regional countries, even as the international community withholds formal recognition.
They have improved domestic security through crackdowns on armed groups such as the Islamic State, and say they are fighting corruption and opium production.
“We are not facing any threats”, said Najibullah Ahmadi, a Taliban police officer, adding that “whenever there were any threats the Mujahideen have reacted on time.”
There’s no armed or political opposition with enough domestic or foreign support to topple the Taliban.
A fighting force resisting Taliban rule from the Panjshir Valley north of Kabul is being violently purged.
Public protests are rare.
The Islamic State has struck high-profile targets in deadly bombings, including two government ministries, but the militants lack fighters, money and other resources to wage a major offensive against the Taliban.
The Taliban swept across the country in August 2021, seizing power as U.S. and NATO forces were in the last weeks of their final withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war.
AP video shot by Sediqullah Alizai.
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
