The Taliban on Tuesday said they wanted to maintain peaceful relations with other countries and that no nation would face a threat from Afghanistan. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s longtime spokesperson, emerged from the shadows Tuesday in his first-ever public appearance to address those concerns at a news conference.

He said that the Taliban would not allow Afghanistan to be used as a base for attacking other countries, as it was in the years before the 9/11 attacks.

“The Islamic emirate is pledging to all world countries that no threat will be posed to any country from Afghanistan,” Mujahid said.

Also read: US troops have evacuated over 3,200 people from Kabul

In 2020, the Taliban had signed a peace deal with the US. The deal had been orchestrated by the then US president Donald Trump. It required the Taliban to give an assurance that Afghanistan would not launch attacks on other nations. The deal also paved the way for US president Joe Biden announced withdrawal of US troops.

The Pentagon said US commanders are communicating with the Taliban as they work to evacuate thousands of people through Kabul’s international airport. It said the Taliban have taken no hostile actions there.

Mujahid reiterated that the Taliban have offered full amnesty to Afghans who worked for the US and the Western-backed government, saying “nobody will go to their doors to ask why they helped.” He said private media should “remain independent” but that journalists “should not work against national values.”

The Taliban also said that they would respect women’s rights, forgive those who fought them and ensure Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorists.

The brutal war in Afghanistan reached a watershed moment on Sunday when the Taliban militants closed in on Kabul before entering the city and took over the presidential palace, forcing embattled President Ashraf Ghani to join fellow citizens and foreigners to flee the country.

(with AP inputs)