Taliban barbarians are on a roll. They are also winning the propaganda war surpassing the superlative propaganda machinery of even the Islamic State.
Thanks to the western media led by CNN for selling footages of hordes of fighters brandishing Kalashnikov and carrying rocket launchers in sophisticated military cars in and around Kabul.
Meanwhile, a horrifying video has emerged online that appears to show the Taliban brutally executing a police chief. And Taliban media was quick to ensure the widespread circulation in all forms of west-run media.
US subjugation is the defeat of western values
CNN’s chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward, an American woman raised in liberal Western culture, became the toast of media for wearing hijab, a gesture that may seem shocking to Western eyes.
Ward, who initially opted to wear a red scarf and blue top, with her arms uncovered as she reported live from the war-torn country, later reversed her thoughts.
Worn generally by Muslim women, her body was completely covered, with just her face, feet and hands showing as she reported from the chaotic Afghan capital.
Ward was subject to mock by one Taliban fighter, who has expressed his reservation over a question if any democratically elected woman would be allowed to feature in the ministry of the new regime. Clarissa was also asked to move aside by militants guarding the presidential palace “because she’s a woman”.
Meanwhile, the shocking footage of brutal execution which was circulating on Twitter since Thursday appears to show Haji Mullah Achakzai kneeling on the ground blindfolded before being gunned down.
The commander, based in the Badghis province near Herat in Afghanistan, was reportedly arrested by the Taliban after they seized the area.
Afghan security adviser and friend of Achakzai, Nasser Waziri, said that the jihadist group shared the disturbing footage through a Taliban-related network.
Mr Waziri verified the footage with other government officials and police officers.
“He was surrounded by the Taliban and had no choice but to surrender last night,” Mr Waziri said.
“The Taliban targeted Achakzai because he was a high-ranking intelligence official.”
Anti-Taliban security people are prime targets
General Achakzai, in his early 60s, was a known enemy of the Taliban and fought against the group in the decades-long conflict.
The Taliban had insisted that there would be no acts of vengeance against former enemies after their takeover of the country on Saturday.
But according to Amnesty International, Taliban fights massacred nine ethnic Hazara men after they took control of the province of Ghazni in July.
According to eyewitness accounts, six men were shot while three were tortured to death in the village of Mundarakht between July 4 and 6.
It appears their first mission is to hunt down anyone who may have helped forces of the US, UK and other nations during the occupation.
And they are reportedly going door-to-door in Kabul as they hunt for soldiers, police, government officials and journalists.
Meanwhile, there have already been reports throughout their advance of women being shot dead and girls as young as 12 being dragged from their homes to be “married”.
On Wednesday, the Taliban said the decision on whether women can study and work would be left to a council of Islamic scholars.
“Our scholars will decide whether girls are allowed to go to school or not,” Waheedullah Hashimi, a senior Taliban leader said.
Hashimi also said that the council of scholars, or ulema, would decide what women would be forced to wear.
A graveyard for women
“They will decide whether they should wear hijab, burqa, or only a veil plus abaya or something, or not. That is up to them,” he added.
Interpretation of Islamic law varies throughout Islamic nations but the laws applied previously under the Taliban regime were among some of the strictest implemented.
Salima Mazari, one of the few female district governors in Afghanistan, expressed fears about a Taliban takeover Saturday in an interview from Mazar-e-Sharif, before it fell.
“There will be no place for women,” said Mazari, who governs a district of 36,000 people near the northern city.
“In the provinces controlled by the Taliban, no women exist there anymore, not even in the cities. They are all imprisoned in their homes.”
In heartbreaking scenes from Kabul airport yesterday, mothers were filmed throwing their babies over razor wire as they begged British paratroopers to take them to safety.
The entrance to the Baron Hotel, near Kabul airport, has become the focal point for Afghans seeking refuge in the UK.