“We will start by recruiting 150,000 fighters for the new Afghan army. We to recruit military who served under the previous authorities of Afghanistan,” Fasihuddin said.

“Priority will be given to those who have not been involved in corruption,” added Fasuhiddin, who was appointed as the chief of staff in the interim government formed by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Taliban forces took control of Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul on August 15 during a military offensive against the Afghan government that had begun in May.

The capture took place hours after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country. Most of the provincial capitals of Afghanistan had fallen in succession in the midst of a US troop withdrawal under a February 2020 US–Taliban agreement that concluded on August 30. (ILKHA)