Taliban calls on Afghan Muslim leaders to urge unity amid protests, fleeing citizens

The Taliban has called for leaders of the Afghanistan Muslim community to urge unity amid recent protests and citizens fleeing the country, Reuters reported.

During the country’s independence day from British rule Thursday, the Taliban called on Muslim worship leaders to persuade citizens to not flee the country, adding that it wants peace and will respect women’s rights abiding by Islamic law. 

The Taliban enforced strict Islamic rules against women, staged public executions and bombed ancient Buddhist statues across the nation during its first rule of Afghanistan from 1996-2001, according to Reuters. 

Although the terrorist organization has promised peace, it has also reportedly created a blacklist of Afghan civilians who helped the U.S. and now-defunct Afghan government. 

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) backed the claim by saying that he has seen photos of the Taliban searching for those on its alleged blacklist, Reuters reported. 

“They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up,” Crow said. “I’ve had people send me pictures of Taliban outside their apartment complexes, searching for them.”

This comes as the Taliban took full control of the country for the first time since 2001 when U.S. troops arrived in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

President Biden, who has already deployed 7,000 U.S.troops to help with the evacuation process, said that troops will remain in the country until all Americans have evacuated, even if it exceeds the Aug. 31 withdrawal deadline, Reuters noted.