Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis Highlights: Taliban appoints former Guantanamo detainee as acting defense minister

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The Taliban expect foreign evacuations from Kabul to be completed by the end of the month, the Islamist group's main spokesman said on Tuesday, urging Afghans to stay to help rebuild their country. Zabihullah Mujahid said the movement had not agreed to an extension of an Aug. 31 deadline which he said had been agreed with the United States to pull out of Afghanistan, and he said the group wanted all evacuations to end by that date. "The extension was unilateral by the side of the United States," he said, apparently referring to a comment by Biden last week that U.S. troops may stay beyond Aug 31. "It was a violation of the agreement. We want them to evacuate all foreign nationals by August 31," Mujahid said, according to his translator. "And we are not in favour of allowing Afghans to leave."

Taliban fighters have taken over some U.N. compounds in Afghanistan, searching and ransacking offices and in one case demanding the guards provide meals for a commander and his men, according to an internal U.N. report seen by Reuters. "We have also been advised by the Taliban to remain in our compound 'for our safety' which equates to 'ask permission before thinking about leaving'," the Department for Safety and Security (UNDSS) wrote in the Aug. 21 risk assessment report.

Afghanistan's Taliban has appointed former Guantanamo detainee mullah Abdul Qayyum Zakir as acting defense minister, Qatari based Al Jazeera news channel reported on Tuesday, citing a source in the Islamist movement.

As the leaders of the G7 countries are set to meet on Tuesday to discuss the Afghan crisis and possible economic sanctions against the Taliban, China expressed reservations over imposing penalties, saying the US and its allies should learn lessons from the past and act prudently. The Group of Seven leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States are due to hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation arising after Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and coordinate international response to the crisis.Ahead of the meeting, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who will chair the emergency G7 virtual meet to coordinate international response to the Afghan crisis, said the Taliban will be judged by its deeds rather than words.

Switzerland has evacuated 292 people from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said on Tuesday, while Switzerland would examine whether it could help facilitate talks underway between the Taliban and the collapsed U.S.-backed government. All local workers from the Swiss development office as well as their close family members have been able to leave Kabul or are safe at the capital's airport, he said. "I am relieved," Cassis said, adding one of the biggest evacuations in Swiss history was nearing completion. An aircraft bringing people back landed in Zurich early on Monday morning, while 66 people were still at Kabul airport and were due to leave in the next few hours. There were still 15 Swiss citizens in Afghanistan, but no more Swiss evacuation flights were planned at this stage, the foreign minister added.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet is to report back in the September-October session on the situation in Afghanistan and any violations committed by the Taliban under a resolution agreed by the Human Rights Council on Tuesday. The text, brought by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and adopted without a vote, gave Bachelet a mandate to present a fuller report in March 2022. Austria's ambassador Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said it was joining the consensus even though the resolution "falls short" and the bloc had sought to launch an international investigation.

Britain on Tuesday urged the Taliban to allow the safe and orderly departure of foreign nationals from Afghanistan at an emergency United Nations Human Rights Council session.Lord Tariq Ahmad, UK Minister for Human Rights, South Asia and the Commonwealth, addressed the session virtually to underscore the UK's commitment to protecting the human rights of the Afghan people amid the Taliban takeover of the country. "We urge the Taliban to allow the safe and orderly departure of foreign nationals, and those who wish to leave Afghanistan," said Lord Ahmad.

Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates |PM Modi speaks to Putin over deteriorating Afghanistan situation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday discussed the latest developments in Afghanistan amid mounting global concerns over the deteriorating security situation and uncertainty in the war-ravaged country after its capital Kabul fell to the Taliban last week.After the conversation, the Russian embassy in India said the two leaders expressed the intention to enhance cooperation to counter the dissemination of "terrorist ideology" and the drug threat emanating from Afghanistan and agreed to form a permanent bilateral channel for consultations on the issue. In a tweet, Modi said,"had a detailed and useful exchange of views with my friend President Putin on recent developments in Afghanistan. We also discussed issues on the bilateral agenda, including India-Russia cooperation against COVID-19. We agreed to continue close consultations on important issues".

Afghanistan's Hazaras, a Shiite minority, are calling on the Taliban to set up an inclusive government in which all ethnic groups would have a voice. Shiite leader Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi said the country's Shiite clerics have issued a declaration stating that a future parliament in Afghanistan should include members of different sects of Islam.He asked for freedom of religion under an Islamic government and asked that there be separate courts for Shiites that follow Jafari jurisprudence, in accordance with the provisions of law. The Shiite concerns come as the Taliban negotiating team in Qatar has been was insisting on implementation of Islamic law, and specifically Hanafi laws which are a major school of Sunni jurisprudence, in the laws and the constitution of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a Sunni militant group.

Female Afghan govt workers asked to stay home until security allows-Taliban: AFP

Taliban ask US to stop evacuating skilled Afghans, reports AFP quoting the group's spokesperson

Taliban Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid says US should not encourage the Afghan elite to leave the country. He also says that the Taliban are committed to resolving the problem in Panjshir peacefully: TOLOnews