Taliban govt head Akhund calls on ex-officials to return

Taliban-led Afghanistan's new acting prime minister, Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund has called on former officials who fled when the Taliban seized power last month to return to the country, saying the group "will guarantee their security and safety".

Mullah Mohammad Hasan Akhund also said on Wednesday during an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, that the caretaker government would guarantee the security of diplomats, embassies and humanitarian relief institutions, stressing that the group wanted to establish positive and strong relations with countries in the region and beyond.

Akhund, a close associate and political adviser to the late Mullah Omar, the founder of the Taliban and its first supreme leader, said the movement's leaders faced "a great responsibility and test" towards the Afghan people.

"We have suffered huge losses in money and lives for this historical moment in the history of Afghanistan," Akhund added.

"The stage of bloodshed, killing and contempt for people in Afghanistan has ended, and we have paid dearly for this."

Akhund also reiterated the Taliban's promise of amnesty for anyone who has worked alongside the United States and the administration it backed following its 2001 invasion.

"No one will be able to prove that he was subjected to revenge. And in such tense circumstances, it is easy to do what you want. But the movement is disciplined and controls its gunmen. And, we have not harmed anyone because of his previous actions," he said.

"Therefore, I assure the Islamic nation, especially the Afghan people, that we want all the good, the causes for success and welfare, and we seek to establish an Islamic system," he added, asking "everyone to participate with us in this blessed project".