Afghanistan: Taliban fighters claim to have “changed” and Afghanistan is now “the safest country in the world” | world News

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The Taliban fighters with whom we are in a magical attack. Someone tells us, “We’ve changed. We’ve changed a lot.”

“Thank God, our behavior is very good now… We are polite, our morals are good and our behavior has improved a lot. We are much better than the previous government. Kabul is now safe. Security is good.”

Hafez Sultan Ahmed looks young. He is young and when I comment on him he said he is 30 years old.

Photo: Hafez Sultan Ahmed, left, deputy Taliban commander

But he has been fighting what he calls “infidels” for the past 14 years. The infidels are the Western forces who invaded his country two decades ago – the Americans, British and all other foreign forces that joined the coalition against the Taliban who rule Afghanistan in 2001.

“When I started fighting, I couldn’t even grow a beard,” he says with a smile.

But those men who have swarmed around us with strange questions about our opinions of them also take pride in their many battles, fighting — and killing — over the past two decades.

This unit was stationed at Faryab in the north and fought first Norwegian and then American soldiers.

Hafez tells us that he killed “countless”.

“It was a war, so I don’t know the number of dead… Once a bomb fell and it didn’t explode, we made five mines out of it and blew five of their armored vehicles to pieces,” he says.

He seemed to feel a strange pride in killing his enemies with the same bomb that targeted him and his fellow fighters.

Photo: A Taliban fighter holding an American-style weapon

I ask him how he feels about the murder and he smiles. “It was jihad – a holy war – and in Islam we do not regret it. If I had a hundred lives and even if I was torn to pieces, we would still be ready to lose our lives for Islam… my greatest joy and sweetest moment of jihad against infidels.”

Together with the fighters around him, he really believes that they have changed the security situation in the country and in the capital.

“Look the streets are safe now. You couldn’t drive around Kabul safely before because there were so many criminals. Now everyone can.”

“We are much better than the previous government. Now Afghanistan is the safest country in the world.”

It is unlikely that many would believe this boast. The suicide bombing carried out by the Islamic State at the end of last month that killed nearly a hundred civilians, including 13 US soldiers, appears to have been quickly ignored.

Photo: A group of Taliban eating a meal

But it’s true, our Sky News team has been able to navigate around the country and the capital with relative ease after receiving accreditation from the acting government.

There are several armed Taliban checkpoints where all our papers are checked and checked again – but these were often accompanied by a cheery “hello, welcome”.

But while the Taliban we encountered seem to have done their best to facilitate foreign journalists, it is clearly a very different picture for Afghans.

They have been arrested, beaten and in some cases have just disappeared. When I talk about this there are apologies from the Taliban, we are with us.

Photo: Alex Crawford, Sky News Special Correspondent, filmed with the Taliban

We were told: “Some people are rude and don’t know how to act but our leaders will deal with this and it won’t happen again. We’re sorry for that.”

We are invited to join them on a patrol but something is lost in translation. I’m sure they just thought Skye photographer Richie Mockler was going to jump on the back of their pickup truck.

When I climb behind him as well, a sudden panic reigns among the men at this foreign woman so close. They immediately descended, leaving one person who had to carry me on the shoulder out of the way to join the exodus.

Two of them are persuaded by the elderly to get back into the car, but one insists on sitting with his back to me for the whole journey and the other hides most of the time behind his shawl looking at the same image of shame and embarrassment.

Taliban leaders know they have to show that they have moved and advanced, but some find it more difficult than others.

The country is highly dependent on foreign aid contributions and support – all of which are now hanging in the balance with this sudden change in power.

Photo: Alex Crawford, Sky News Special Correspondent, filmed with the Taliban

The sudden collapse of the last government. The announcement of the Taliban’s 33-man, mostly Pashtun government, as well as the crackdown on demonstrations and the media, alarmed international donors.

More than anxious – afraid and unsure of what will follow. Two of the new cabinet members have close ties to al-Qaeda and five detainees at Guantanamo.

The Taliban hierarchy understands that they need international recognition if they are to be able to operate at all in the future.

But convincing the world that they have changed may be their biggest battle yet.

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