Taliban Fire Warning Shots at Protest in Kabul

The Taliban fired warning shots to disperse a big gathering at a protest in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital.

On Tuesday, hundreds of people marched to the streets to protest Taliban rule and demand women's rights.

Many people believe Pakistan supports the Taliban, which Pakistan denies. Protesters also yelled anti-Pakistan slogans.

Taliban fighters firing their weapons into the air, a practise the organisation outlawed last week after multiple people were killed in celebratory aerial fire.

According to one of the demonstrators, guards at a nearby bank opened their subterranean car park to scores of ladies who sought refuge from the gunshots for about 20 minutes.

At the protest, some journalists were barred from filming.

The Taliban detained and held a cameraman for about three hours, according to Afghanistan's Tolo news agency.

Taliban members were taking close-up shots of leading protestors, according to a former government official, presumably to help identify them later.

For the previous week, women have been demonstrating, but on Tuesday, males joined their calls for equality and safety. Many observers had noted that past women-led protests had been devoid of men.

As they marched, demonstrators were heard yelling "long live the resistance" and "death to Pakistan."

"Our poor people are being shot at by the Islamic government," one protester told the Reuters news agency.

Sarah Fahim, another protester, stated: "Afghan women desire independence for their nation. They want to rebuild their country. We're exhausted... We want everyone in our community to have a normal life. How much longer are we going to be in this situation?"

The protests come after Ahmad Massoud, the leader of anti-Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, called for a "national revolt" by people against the terrorists the day before.

Many protestors demonstrated their support for the resistance forces in Panjshir, who claim to be still fighting the Taliban.

The Taliban declared victory in the province on Monday, claiming control of the last pocket of territory that had eluded them.