‘War is over in Afghanistan,’ says Taliban after Kabul falls to Islamist group

The Taliban have declared that the “war is over in Afghanistan” as it claimed victory over the country after the capture of capital Kabul.

Afghanistan’s democratic government collapsed on Sunday with little resistance by president Ashraf Ghani, who fled the country as the Taliban arrived at the gates of Kabul.

A Taliban spokesperson called for “peaceful international relations” in an interview with Al Jazeera, saying that the type of rule and the form of the regime will be clear soon.

"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, spokesperson for the Taliban’s political office, told the TV station.

"Thanks to God, the war is over in the country."

Dramatic scenes were witnessed as Taliban commanders took over the presidential palace with dozens of armed fighters.

The Taliban celebrated its return to power twenty years after the group lost control of Afghanistan when a US-led coalition took over the country. The decades of hard-fought gains by the US military and Nato forces were completely erased after weeks of fighting between Taliban fighters and Afghan forces across Afghanistan following the swift pullout of US forces in July.

"We have reached what we were seeking, which is the freedom of our country and the independence of our people," Mr Naeem said. "We will not allow anyone to use our lands to target anyone, and we do not want to harm others."

The lightning collapse of the Kabul government led countries like US, UK, New Zealand and several others to conduct emergency evacuation of their diplomats and nationals trapped in Afghanistan.

Kabul descended into chaos as civilians and foreign nations tried to escape the the besieged capital.

Visuals on social media showed hundreds of people with their luggage crowding on the gangplank of a plane, with some dangling on it in a desperate attempt to make their way into the aircraft.

Gun shots were also fired at the airport by US soldiers deployed at the airport to safeguard the evacuation of their nationals, leading to the death of at least five people.

"The crowd was out of control," a US official told Reuters by phone. "The firing was only done to defuse the chaos."

Amid Taliban’s attempt to present itself with changed intentions, many fear that they will resume brutal practices with the imposition of sharia, or Islamic religious law. During their rule in the country from 1996 to 2001, harsh punishments such as stoning, whipping and hangings were enforced and women were not allowed in public places unaccompanied by a male member of the household.

But Mr Naeem said the group respected women’s and minorities’ rights and freedom of expression within the Sharia law. He said the Taliban do not want to run the country in isolation and wanted peaceful relations with other countries.

"We ask all countries and entities to sit with us to settle any issues", he said in the interview with Al Jazeera TV. "We do not think that foreign forces will repeat their failed experience in Afghanistan once again," he said.

On Monday, Afghanistan‘s Civil Aviation Authority issued an advisory saying the “civilian side” of the airport had been “closed until further notice” and the military will now control the airspace.

The cities remain deserted as new presence of Taliban fighters was seen in the capital.

“There were a few Taliban fighters on each and every road and intersection in the city,” Shah Mohammad, a 55-year-old gardener told AP when he arrived to work in the diplomatic quarter. He said the traffic moment was less than normal and very few people were out on streets.