The Taliban says it does not want to monopolise power but insists there will not be peace in Afghanistan until there is a new negotiated government in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani is removed.
In an interview with The Associated Press news agency, Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, who is also a member of the group’s negotiating team, laid out the group’s stance on what should come next in a country on the precipice.
The Taliban has swiftly captured territory in recent weeks, seized strategic border crossings and is threatening a number of provincial capitals, as the last United States and NATO soldiers leave Afghanistan.
This week, the top US military officer, General Mark Milley, told a Pentagon news conference that the Taliban has “strategic momentum” and he did not rule out a complete Taliban takeover.
But he said it is not inevitable.
