Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mottaki says they have not seized power by force.

 

Amir Khan Mottaki, the Taliban's foreign minister in Afghanistan, said they had not seized power by force, but had been asked to enter Kabul to prevent theft and looting.

He told a meeting of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey on Saturday that the current Taliban government was a coalition and claimed that there were no political prisoners in the country, nor were women imprisoned.
But last week, according to former President Hamid Karzai, there were reports that he (Karzai) and former chief executive Abdullah Abdullah were under house arrest and were not allowed to travel abroad.
Many of the Taliban's political and military opponents and leaders are currently living outside of Afghanistan.
The Taliban have also been accused of arresting, imprisoning and even torturing female activists on several occasions since taking control of Kabul.
But the group's foreign minister, Amir Khan Mottaki, says he entered Kabul in August last year at the request of the people and to prevent theft and looting.
He claimed in a speech to the Antalya Diplomacy Forum that the Taliban government was "inclusive" in every sense of the word and included people from all walks of life.
Mr Mottaki said the world should not blame these failed experiments on Afghans and should deal with the current Taliban government.
He claimed to have brought security to the entire country, defeated terrorist groups and did not attack anyone, including the United States.
Representatives, politicians, diplomats and policy makers from around the world were invited to the meeting.
On Friday, Thomas West, the US special envoy for Afghanistan, met with a Taliban delegation led by Mr Mottaki on the sidelines of the same Antalya diplomatic meeting.
Mr West said in a series of Twitter messages following the meeting: "There is still much work to be done on some issues, including human rights, the preservation of achievements and the reflection of Afghan society in governance. ''
No country, including Turkey, has so far recognized the Taliban's caretaker government, but Turkey's ambassador is in Kabul and occasionally meets with Taliban officials and other Afghan leaders.