It was his first day as the Taliban-appointed mayor of Kunduz, and Gul Mohammad Elias was on a charm offensive. Last Sunday, the insurgents seized control of the city in northern Afghanistan, which was in shambles after weeks of fighting. The civil servants who could fix those problems were hiding at home, terrified of the Taliban. So the insurgent-commander-turned-mayor summoned some to his new office, to persuade them to return to work. “I said that our jihad is not with the municipality, our jihad is against the occupiers and those who defend the occupiers,” Mr. Elias told The New York Times by telephone.

Source: International New York Times August 15, 2021 14:37 UTC