Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis Highlights: US troops may stay in Afghanistan past an August 31 deadline to evacuate Americans, US President Joe Biden said. He said it would have been impossible to leave Afghanistan "without chaos ensuing". In a Facebook post, President Ashraf Ghani said he had left the country to avoid clashes with the Taliban that would endanger millions of residents of Kabul. In their first official news conference in Kabul on Wednesday, the Taliban promised to respect the rights of women, seek good relations with other countries and not to extract retribution on former members of the Afghan military. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan after the Afghan government collapsed and Ghani fled the country, bringing an end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform the war-ravaged nation.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Jaishankar holds talks on Afghanistan with Qatari counterpart in Doha
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on August 20 held talks with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on the situation in Afghanistan as he made a stopover in Doha on his way back from the US. Qatar's capital Doha has been the venue for the intra-Afghan peace talks and the Gulf country has emerged as a crucial player in facilitating the Afghan peace process.
"Met Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani @MBA_AlThani_DPM & FM Qatar during my stop over in Doha. Had useful exchange of views on Afghanistan," Jaishankar tweeted.
Earlier this month, Qatari special envoy for conflict resolution Mutlaq bin Majed Al-Qahtani visited India.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Facing backlash over chaos, foreign powers try to speed Afghanistan exodus
Foreign powers sought to hasten evacuations from Afghanistan on Friday after reports of Taliban reprisals, including against people who had worked with U.S.-led forces or the previous Western-backed government.
More than 18,000 people have been flown out since the militants took the capital Kabul, according to transatlantic alliance NATO, but Western governments are facing criticism for not anticipating such a chaotic exodus or helping enough.
Thousands of desperate Afghans clutching papers, children, and some belongings still thronged Kabul airport where gun-toting Taliban members urged those without travel documents to go home. In and around the airport https://tmsnrt.rs/3stVpcj, 12 people have been killed since Sunday, NATO and Taliban officials said.
Such was the turmoil that no nation really knows which plane its citizens are on, while some people were caught in Afghanistan on family visits, a Dutch minister said.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Uzbekistan sends 150 Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan: TASS
Uzbekistan's foreign ministry has sent 150 Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan as per an agreement with the Taliban, Russian news agency TASS reported on August 20 citing the ministry. The refugees had been given security guarantees, the ministry was quoted as saying.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Gulf Arabs jittery about Taliban takeover but may seek pragmatic ties
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among the few who recognised the Taliban’s radical 1996-2001 rule in Afghanistan, will likely take a pragmatic approach to its return to power despite fears it could embolden militant Islam abroad.
Foreign diplomats and analysts said while Taliban ideology clashed with the Saudi-UAE campaign against militancy and with Riyadh's recent relaxation of Islamic strictures, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would adapt to realities after the Taliban’s shockingly swift reconquest of Afghanistan as the United States-led forces withdrew.
Gulf powers severed ties with the Taliban in September 2001 for “harbouring terrorists” after airplanes hijacked by al Qaeda militants, mostly Saudi nationals, crashed into New York’s World Trade Center and Washington's Pentagon, killing thousands.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban took Afghanistan but face cash squeeze
The Taliban face a frontal challenge in cementing control of Afghanistan: Money.
Despite their dominant military blitz over the past week, the Taliban lack access to billions of dollars from their central bank and the International Monetary Fund that would keep the country running during a turbulent shakeup. Those funds are largely controlled by the United States and international institutions, a possible leverage point as tense evacuations proceed from the airport in the capital of Kabul. Tens of thousands of people remain to be evacuated ahead of the United States August 31 deadline to withdraw its troops from the country.
But the Taliban also do not currently have institutional structures to receive the money a sign of the challenges it might confront as it tries to govern an economy that has urbanized and tripled in size since they were last in power two decades ago. The shortfall could lead to an economic crisis that would only fuel a deeper humanitarian one for the roughly 36 million Afghans expected to stay in the country.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Resistance to Taliban is doomed, says Russian envoy to Afghanistan
Russia's ambassador to Afghanistan praised the conduct of the Taliban on Friday in the days since its takeover, saying there was no alternative to the hardline Islamist group and resistance to it would fail.The comments by Ambassador Dmitry Zhirnov reflect efforts by Russia to deepen already well-established ties with the Taliban while stopping short, for now, of recognising them as the legitimate rulers of a country Moscow tried and failed to control before the Soviet Union withdrew its last forces in 1989.
Russia wants to ensure that the instability in Afghanistan does not spill over into Central Asia, part of the former Soviet Union it regards as its own backyard, and that the region does not become a launch pad for other extreme Islamist groups.
Speaking to Reuters from Kabul by Zoom, Zhirnov said the security situation in the capital was much better than it was before the Taliban took control of it and spoke optimistically about the future."The mood in Kabul can be described as one of cautious hope," said Zhirnov."There was a bad regime which disappeared and people are hopeful. They say it cant be worse so it should be better. But this is another test for the Taliban to pass. After they restore order, they should start improving the socio-economic situation," he said.
Reuters
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | NATO urges Taliban to allow evacuations, vows 'close' allied coordination
NATO on Friday called on the Taliban to allow people being evacuated to leave Afghanistan, and vowed that the allies would remain in "close coordination" while operations continue.
The joint declaration by NATO's 30 member countries was made following an emergency videolink conference of their foreign ministers to discuss evacuation efforts and the next steps to take. (AFP)
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Poland to airlift 300 Afghans with links to NATO
Poland's prime minister says his government has taken on the responsibility as a NATO member to organise the evacuation of some 300 Afghans who have cooperated with the military alliance. Mateusz Morawiecki said Friday on Facebook that following his talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Poland will be evacuating from Kabul 300 Afghans who in recent years cooperated with NATO. He did not elaborate what that cooperation entailed. Mateusz Morawiecki said Friday on Facebook that following his talks with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Poland will be evacuating from Kabul 300 Afghans who in recent years cooperated with NATO. He did not elaborate what that cooperation entailed.
They will be brought to Poland and then on to other NATO countries, which Morawiecki did not name. Morawiecki said that Poland is taking seriously its obligations within the alliance and that the evacuation was not the last word from Poland in the NATO response to the crisis in Afghanistan. Poland has been a NATO member since 1999. Morawiecki said that Poland is taking seriously its obligations within the alliance and that the evacuation was not the last word from Poland in the NATO response to the crisis in Afghanistan. Poland has been a NATO member since 1999.
AP
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates |
Britain's embattled foreign minister has defended his decision not to call while on vacation his Afghan counterpart about the evacuation of translators who had helped British forces. Dominic Raab has come under increasing pressure to resign for failing to follow the advice of officials in his department to make a call to Hanif Atmar on Aug. 13, while he was vacationing on the Greek island of Crete.
Two days later, the Taliban took over Afghanistan, 20 years after they had been ousted from power, and Raab headed back to the U.K. after cutting his vacation short to deal with the crisis. Raab on Friday posted a statement on Twitter to counter what he described as inaccurate media reporting over recent days. He said he prioritised security at Kabul airport and delegated the call to a junior minister in his department.
AP
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban said to be waiting until after Aug 31 to make any announcement
An Afghan official familiar with talks with the Taliban says the group does not plan to make any decisions or announcements about the upcoming government until after the August 31 US withdrawal date passes. The official, who is not authorised to give information to the media and thus spoke anonymously, says Taliban lead negotiator Anas Haqqani has told his ex-government interlocutors that the insurgent movement has a deal with the US to do nothing until after the final withdrawal date passes.
He did not elaborate on whether the reference to doing nothing was only in the political field. Haqqani's statement raises concerns about what the religious movement might be planning after August 31, and whether they will keep their promise to include non-Taliban officials in the next government. Until now the Taliban have said nothing of their plans to replace the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces, or what a replacement would look like.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Friday prayers quiet in Kabul, Taliban unseen
Friday prayers were uneventful in the Afghan capital, with no Taliban gunmen seen guarding the entrances of mosques or enforcing dress code restrictions as they have in the past. Some mosques even saw higher numbers than normal in attendance. The Islamic-fundamentalist Taliban issued guidance to imams around Afghanistan on Thursday, saying they should use the weekly sermons and prayers to appeal for unity, urge people not to flee the country, and to counter negative propaganda about them.
The benefits of state should be explained to all, a commission of Taliban monitoring religious affairs and mosques said in the guidance they circulated. Kabul resident Jawed Safi was pleased to see the mosques secure. The Afghan government had previously posted guards at mosques to ward off attackers due to frequent bombings in the past.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Open community halls, schools for people coming from Afghanistan: BJP councillor to SDMC
BJP councillor and South Delhi Municipal Corporation's (SDMC) central zone chairman has urged the civic body to open its community halls and schools for people coming from Afghanistan following the political turmoil in the country. Rajpal Singh, chairman of SDMC's central zone, in a letter to civic body's commissioner Gyanesh Bharti said many individuals and families, including Hindus and Sikhs, are coming to India from Afghanistan after a crisis like situation there.
Singh said a sizeable number of Afghans live in areas like Lajpat Nagar, Amar Colony, and Bhogal and they have businesses here. After the political crisis in Afghanistan, many relatives of those Afghans living here are likely to come to the city.
They (Afghans living in Delhi) do not have arrangements to accommodate a large number of people, so I have requested the SDMC commissioner to make arrangements for their stay and food in our community halls. The commissioner has assured me of full cooperation, Singh told After the political crisis in Afghanistan, many relatives of those Afghans living here are likely to come to the city.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | EU officials to visit Afghan Spain refugee camp
Top European Union officials will visit a Spanish military airport being used as a hub to receive Afghans flown out of Kabul before they are distributed to other countries in the bloc. Spanish Foreign Minister Jos Manuel Albares said on August 20 that EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel will visit a temporary camp at the Torrejn de Ardoz military airport near Madrid on Saturday.
Albares told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE that Spain is receiving evacuated Afghans who have worked for EU bodies or EU member nations. The evacuees are expected to spend several days at the camp for health and security screening before moving to reception centres ahead of their journeys to other European countries.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Afghan influencers go dark on social media as Taliban return
Sadiqa Madadgar's social media looked much like any other successful young Afghan influencers until Taliban militants stormed into Kabul and upended her dreams.
The return of the hardline Islamist group has sent a shockwave through Afghanistan's social media. Prominent influencers have gone dark or fled, while residents and activists are scrambling to scrub their digital lives.
A former contestant on the reality singing competition "Afghan Star", Madadgar amassed a huge following with her stunning vocals and down to earth, girl next door persona.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Informal U.S. refugee network turns to text messages, GoFundMe to rescue Afghans
The desperate plea was sent via text message from one refugee advocate to another trying to aid frantic evacuations from Afghanistan: "Just got a call for a young mom with her two young kids," it said, "She got through Taliban but being turned away by United States forces."
The Afghan woman, a US permanent resident who was in Afghanistan to visit family, and her US citizen children were hoping to board a flight from Kabul to rejoin her husband in North Carolina on Thursday following the Taliban's rapid takeover of the country.
It was her second attempt to leave Afghanistan after she and her small children were trampled in a stampede triggered by gunfire near the airport on Wednesday, advocates and the woman's husband said in interviews, requesting anonymity for her safety.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Pakistan determined to play 'positive role' in Afghanistan: Qureshi
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said Pakistan is determined to play a "positive role" in Afghanistan as he appealed to the Taliban insurgents and former rulers of the war-ravaged country to formulate an all-inclusive political government after mutual consultations.
Qureshi said that nobody is ready to face bloodshed in Afghanistan and people are looking for peace and stability in the country that has been taken over by the Taliban insurgents. Pakistan is determined to play its positive role, he said. Our envoy in Afghanistan is also in touch with different Afghan personalities, he said in a statement.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | The Vatican urges world to welcome Afghan refugees
The Vatican's newspaper is calling on the international community to welcome Afghan civilians fleeing the Taliban, expressing incredulousness that before deciding to abandon the country no one thought through such a foreseeable scenario or did anything to avoid it. In a front-page article in the Friday edition of L'Osservatore Romano, deputy editor Gaetano Vallini said the West was obliged to urgently remedy the situation with concrete action and welcome refugees to avoid a catastrophic humanitarian emergency.
The commentary was an unusually blunt criticism of the US, though Washington wasn't singled out by name. After expressing shock at the chaos created by the US-led Western withdrawal, Gallini wrote: It would be even more serious if such a decision was taken with the knowledge of such dramatic consequences.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates |
Afghan karate champion Meena Asadi fears it is game over for female athletes. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, their strict interpretation of Islamic law - sometimes brutally enforced - dictated that women could not work, and girls could not go to school. Women had to cover their faces and be accompanied by a male relative to venture out of their homes.
With the Taliban back in Kabul, Meena is fearful of what that means for the progress made by her compatriots. "All the achievement and values are destroyed, and this would be a dark moment for the people, especially for women and girls," said the 28-year-old member of the Hazara minority community.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Amnesty says Taliban killed nine minority men
Amnesty International says the Taliban were responsible for the torture and killing of several members of Afghanistan’s Hazara ethnic minority last month. The rights group said Friday that its researchers in Afghanistan spoke to eyewitnesses in Ghazni province who recounted how the Taliban killed nine men in the village of Mundarakht on July 4-6. It said six of the men were shot and three were tortured to death.
The head of Amnesty International, Agnes Callamard, said the brutality of the killings was “a reminder of the Taliban’s past record, and a horrifying indicator of what Taliban rule may bring.” The rights group warned that many more killings may be occurring but are so far unreported, because the Taliban have cut cellphone services in many of the areas they’ve captured to prevent images from being published.
Separately, the group Reporters without Borders expressed alarm at the news that Taliban fighters have killed the family member of an Afghan journalist working for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. “Sadly this confirms our worst fears,” said Katja Gloger of the group’s German section. “The brutal action of the Taliban show that the lives of independent media workers in Afghanistan are in acute danger.”
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Zakia Khudadadi was set to make Afghan history at the Paralympics—until the Taliban took over
Zakia Khudadadi traveled from her home in Afghanistan’s Herat province to Kabul in the past week to board a flight that would make history. The taekwondoka was going to be her country’s first woman to compete in the Paralympic Games later this month. But between her arrival in Kabul and the time she was set to depart for Tokyo, the Taliban had taken over Afghanistan’s capital. Now she’s pleading for help in a last-minute bid to somehow compete in the Paralympics, while still stuck in a city where she’s afraid to even go outside.
“I request from you all…on behalf of all Afghan women to help me," she said in a video taken in Kabul and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “My intention is to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, please hold my hand and help me." Khudadadi was one of two Afghan Paralympians, along with track and field athlete Hossain Rasouli. due in Tokyo. While the athletes hold out hope of competing, they do not have any way of getting out of Afghanistan, according to Arian Sadiqi, the London-based Chef de Mission for the Afghan Paralympic Committee.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | China believes Taliban more 'rational' than before, will not repeat history
China on Thursday said it is in talks with the Taliban and called for an “objective judgement" on their actions after it seized power in Afghanistan, saying the militant group appears to be more “clear eyed and rational" and hoped that it will deliver on its promises, including protection of women's rights. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that although the situation hasn’t cleared up completely, it is believed that the "Afghan Taliban will not repeat the history of the past and now they are clear-eyed and rational" compared to their last rule.
“Actually, the rapid resolution in the country shows that there is a lack of objective judgement in this situation and failure to accurately grasp public opinion in Afghanistan, especially certain Western countries should draw lessons from this," she said. Leaders of the Taliban and its spokesperson have openly stated that the militant group will work to resolve the problems faced by the people, meet their aspirations and strive to build an open, inclusive Islamic government, Hua told a media briefing when asked whether China is in talks with the Taliban and Beijing’s conditions for recognising its government.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Vladimir Putin rejected role for US forces near Afghanistan at summit with Joe Biden
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a June 16 summit meeting with President Biden, objected to any role for American forces in Central Asian countries, senior U.S. and Russian officials said, undercutting the U.S. military’s efforts to act against new terrorist dangers after its Afghanistan withdrawal.
The previously unreported exchange between the U.S. and Russian leaders has complicated the U.S. military’s options for basing drones and other counterterrorism forces in countries bordering landlocked Afghanistan. That challenge has deepened with the collapse over the weekend of the Afghan government and armed forces.
The exchange also indicates that Moscow is more determined to try to maintain Central Asia as a sphere of influence than to expand cooperation with a new American president over the turmoil in Afghanistan, former and current U.S. officials said. “The Russians have no interest in having the U.S. back in there," said Paul Goble, a former State Department expert on Eurasia. The U.S. requirement for what the Pentagon calls an “over-the-horizon" counterterrorism capability in Afghanistan has grown substantially in recent days with the Taliban takeover.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | UN refugee agency says Afghans at risk "have no clear way out"
Top European Union officials will visit a Spanish military airport being used as a hub to receive Afghans flown out of Kabul before they are distributed to other countries in the bloc. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Friday that EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Charles Michel will visit a temporary camp at the Torrejón de Ardoz military airport near Madrid on Saturday.
Albares told Spanish public broadcaster RTVE that Spain is receiving evacuated Afghans who have worked for EU bodies or EU member nations. The evacuees are expected to spend several days at the camp for health and security screening before moving to reception centers ahead of their journeys to other European countries.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Germany says evacuated 1600 this week from Kabul
Germany says it has flown out more than 1,600 people from Kabul this week. The Defense Ministry on Friday said that the German military has carried out 11 evacuation flights so far, with more planned. The German government has pledged to help bring all citizens and local Afghan staff who worked for the German military, aid groups or news organizations out of the country. Senior German officials have also said efforts will be made to help Afghans who are particularly vulnerable to reprisals from the Taliban, such as human rights defenders. But Germany’s commanding officer in Kabul, Gen. Jens Arlt, said the evacuation has been hampered by the large number of people outside Kabul airport hoping to get onto planes out of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Uttarakhand govt sends names of 110 natives stuck in Afghanistan to Centre
The names of 110 Uttarakhand natives stuck in Afghanistan have been sent to the Ministry of External Affairs by the state government, official sources here said on Friday. On Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's direction the administration has sent a list of 110 names to the MEA on the basis of information available with it so far, they said. The list has been sent with a request that any information about them should also be shared with the state government, the sources said.
The families of Uttarakhand natives stranded in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover are worried and have been requesting the state government to facilitate their safe return. The chief minister has already spoken to National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and the MEA, urging them to take all steps necessary for their safe return.
The state government has also asked people, whose kin are stuck in Afghanistan, to furnish the district administration with all relevant information about them like their names, passport details etc so that they can be passed on to the Centre for further action. The information can also be provided to the district administration on helpline no 112, an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan said.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Afghan man deported from Nagpur has joined Taliban, say cops as his gun-wielding snap surfaces
An Afghan national, who was deported to his country from Nagpur in June this year after he was found staying here illegally, has apparently joined the Taliban and his picture holding a rifle has surfaced on social media, a senior police official said on Friday. The Taliban has seized power in Afghanistan as it swept into capital Kabul on Sunday after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.
"The man, Noor Mohammad Ajiz Mohammad, 30, was found staying in Nagpur since the last 10 years illegally. He was living in a rented place in Dighori area of the city. Acting on a tip-off, the police had started keeping a watch on his activities. He was finally nabbed and deported to Afghanistan on June 23," he said. "After his deportation, he seems to have joined the Taliban and his photo holding a gun has emerged on social media," he added.
During the probe earlier, police had found that he had come to Nagpur in 2010 on a six-month tourist visa. Later, he had applied to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) seeking a refugee status for himself, but his application was rejected. His appeal was also turned down by the UNHRC. Since then, he stayed in Nagpur illegally, the official said.
Another police official said that Noor Mohammad''s original name is Abdul Haque and his brother was working with the Taliban. Last year, Noor had floated a video on social media with a sharp-edged weapon. After he was nabbed, police found that he had "entry and exit wounds" from a gunshot near his left shoulder, he said, adding that when his social media accounts were checked, it was found that he was following some terrorists whose videos of gun firing were available on social media.
"He was in the business of selling blankets and was unmarried. Police conducted searches at his rented accommodation, but did not find anything suspicious. His call details are also under the scanner of the police," the official said.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates: Uttarakhand govt asks people to submit details of stranded kin in Afghanistan
As part of efforts to ensure safe return of Uttarakhand natives stuck in Afghanistan, the state government has asked people whose relatives are stranded to give details of their kin to the district administration. Additional Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan has asked people to provide the district administration documents like names of their relatives stranded in Afghanistan, their passports and other relevant details. The information can also be provided to the district administration on helpline number 112, Bardhan said.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates: Australia flags weather threat to Afghanistan evacuations
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, facing criticism over plans to evacuate citizens and some Afghans from Kabul, said adverse weather expected in the coming days threatens to delay rescue flights from Afghanistan. Australia said earlier this week it would send 250 military personnel to Kabul to evacuate its citizens and an unspecified number of Afghans who had been given visas after working for Australia during the 20-year war. Australia has evacuated 26 people on one flight from Afghanistan, and Morrison said a further 76 were transported out of Kabul late on Thursday on a British plane.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | No country can 'ignore' Pakistan as it convinced Afghan Taliban to talk to US, says country's interior minister
No country can "ignore" Pakistan as it convinced the Afghan Taliban to hold dialogue with the US, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has said as he boasted of Islamabad's significant role in ensuring peace in Afghanistan.Pakistan's efforts for the peace process in Afghanistan would be remembered for long, he said on Wednesday. "No country can ignore Pakistan as it has played a significant role in bringing the US and Taliban to the negotiating table", The News International quoted Ahmed as saying.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Afghan footballer Zaki Anwari fell to death from US plane, says sports federation
An Afghan footballer who played for the national youth team fell to his death after trying to cling to a US plane airlifting people out of Taliban-controlled Kabul, a sports federation said Thursday. The General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports of Afghanistan, a government institution that worked with sporting groups, confirmed the death of Zaki Anwari in the mayhem that erupted at the airport in the capital this week.
"Anwari, like thousands of Afghan youths, wanted to leave the country but fell off a US plane and died," the group said in a statement posted on Facebook. Thousands of Afghans have flocked to the airport this week in a bid to flee the country, following the Taliban's lightning offensive that ended with them assuming power when president Ashraf Ghani fled.
In a harrowing video from the airport on Monday, hundreds of people were seen running alongside a US Air Force plane as it gathered speed on the runway -- several men desperately holding onto the side. Further clips on social media appeared to show two people falling to their deaths from a C-17 aircraft after it took off.
Human remains were later found in a wheel well, the US military confirmed, adding that it was investigating the reported deaths linked to the C-17. "Before the air crew could offload the cargo, the aircraft was surrounded by hundreds of Afghan civilians," US Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said. "Faced with a rapidly deteriorating security situation around the aircraft, the C-17 crew decided to depart the airfield as quickly as possible."
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban wanted India to maintain diplomatic presence in Afghanistan: Report
As India began evacuating all diplomats from missions in Afghanistan, the Taliban reportedly wanted India to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country. Taliban leader Sher Mohammed Abbas Stanekzai reached out to the Indian authorities requesting continued diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, Hindustan Times reported.
Stanekzai conveyed the request shortly before India evacuated around 200 people on two military flights on August 16 and 17. He told the Indian side that it should not worry about the "safety of its mission and diplomats" in Kabul, people in the know told the publication. After a quick assessment, India decided that requests from the Taliban cannot be taken at face value and that the evacuation of the Indian diplomats and others should go ahead as planned, the report said.
Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. India on August 17 rushed back home its ambassador Rudrendra Tandon and staff from the embassy in Kabul in a military transport aircraft following escalating tension, fear, and uncertainty gripping the Afghan capital after the Taliban insurgents seized the Afghan capital on August 15. The C-17 Globemaster aircraft of the Indian Air Force carrying around 150 people, including diplomats, officials, security personnel, and some stranded Indians, landed at the Hindon airbase near the national capital at around 5 pm after a brief halt at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Many out of the thousands Afghan refugees expected to resettle in US' state of Texas: Official
Many among the at least 30,000 Afghan refugees headed to the US to escape the Taliban in Afghanistan are expected to be resettled in different cities in Texas state, the agency for refugee services has said.
An anticipated at least 30,000 Afghans could be resettled in the US in the coming weeks as they desperately flee Taliban control. Many Afghan refugees will be placed in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Austin cities of Texas. Afghan nationals and their families, who aided the US military, are in grave danger and are seeking refuge in the US, Russell Smith, CEO of Refugee Services of Texas (RST) said in a statement.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban to free political detainees in Afghan prisons
The leader of the Taliban Hibatullah Akhundzada, has ordered the release of political detainees from all prisons in Afghanistan, a spokesman for the outfit said on Thursday. "The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate ... Hibatullah Akhundzada ordered the release of political prisoners from all jails. The provincial governors will unconditionally release all political prisoners of low and high ranks from the country's prisons and will hand them over to their families tomorrow," Sputnik reported quoting Qari Yousuf Ahmadi.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | 160 Australians and Afghans evacuated from Kabul
More than 160 Australian and Afghan citizens have been evacuated from Kabul after a third rescue flight, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday. Morrison said 60 Australians and Afghans who helped Australia during the 20-year war were flown to the United Arab Emirates overnight. The first Australian flight carrying 94 evacuees touched down in the Australian west coast city of Perth on Friday, he said.
Australia could not evacuate parts of Afghanistan beyond the Kabul airport, he added. “The situation in Kabul does remain chaotic,” Morrison said. The government has not commented on media reports that Australia plans to evacuate 600 Australians and Afghans.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Sri Lanka should not recognise Taliban rule: PM Ranil Wickremesinghe
Former Sri Lankan prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has cautioned the government against recognising Taliban's rule in Afghanistan and advocated snapping of ties with Kabul, saying one should rethink if the country should be a 'party to help terrorism' raise its head in the region.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the four-time former prime minister said: “Everyone fears that Afghanistan would become a centre of jihadi terrorist groups under the Taliban rule.' 'No one could condone their action to threaten states and people. Their ideology based on a wrong interpretation of the Quran is a threat to conventional Islamic states and other nations,' Wickremesinghe said.
“There are no justifiable reasons for us to recognise a Taliban rule,' he added. Wickremesinghe advocated the snapping of diplomatic relations with Afghanistan by recalling the Lankan embassy presence there. “We need an embassy in a Central Asian state, this could be located elsewhere”. Wickremesinghe recalled that the Taliban had destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhist sculpture in Afghanistan.
The destruction of the giant statues by the Taliban in 2001 provoked widespread international condemnation, including in Sri Lanka, where Buddhism is the major religion. “We should rethink if we are a party to help terrorism raise its head in the region by our action to recognise the Taliban rule,' Wickremesinghe, who is now an Opposition parliamentarian, said.
The Sri Lankan government has so far not made any statement on the developments in Afghanistan. The Sri Lankan Embassy in Afghanistan, manned by one local staff member, was operating from a Kabul hotel. Sri Lanka’s Foreign Employment Bureau said there were over 200 Sri Lankans in Kabul when the city fell under the Taliban.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban takeover will inspire terrorists, warns UK minister
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will inspire terrorists and trigger an “explosion” of extremism and security challenges for the world, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned on Thursday. Speaking to the BBC, the Cabinet minister said he feared that terror groups like Al Qaeda would view the Taliban advance as an “opportunity” and it was important for the West to gear up against such a prospect.
“It’s pretty straightforward. Failed states lead to an explosion of poverty and usually an explosion of extremism or security challenges. That’s why we have invested in capabilities to take action from outside a country,” Wallace said. “One of the things I felt was wrong about where we were with this deal — you’ve heard me call it a rotten deal — is that around the world Islamists will see what they view as a victory. That will inspire other terrorists,” he said.
“Al-Qaeda is potentially going to look at this as an opportunity. We will have to gear up, tool up,” he added. The minister, overseeing the evacuation of British nationals from Afghanistan, also dismissed some media reports claiming that planes were flying out of the region half empty. Wallace said seven to 10 Royal Air Force (RAF) packed planes were taking off every day. The passengers on the flights out of Afghanistan this week have included British government personnel, British citizens, media and human rights staff and Afghans who had worked for the UK.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban are rounding up Afghans on blacklist
The Taliban have begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people they believe have worked in key roles with the previous Afghan administration or with U.S.-led forces that supported it, according to a report by a Norwegian intelligence group. The report, compiled by the RHIPTO Norwegian Center for Global Analyses and seen by Reuters, said the Taliban were hunting individuals linked to the previous administration, which fell on Sunday when the Islamist militant movement took Kabul.
"Taliban are intensifying the hunt-down of all individuals and collaborators with the former regime, and if unsuccessful, target and arrest the families and punish them according to their own interpretation of Sharia law," said the report, dated Wednesday. "Particularly at risk are individuals in central positions in military, police and investigative units." The non-profit RHIPTO Norwegian Center for Global Analyses, which makes independent intelligence assessments, said the Afghanistan report was shared with agencies and individuals working within the United Nations.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban kill Deutsche Welle reporter's relative
German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle says the Taliban shot and killed a family member of one of their reporters in Afghanistan and severely injured a second family member. The broadcaster said in a statement on Thursday that Taliban fighters were looking for the Deutsche Welle reporter and searching homes in western Afghanistan. It said other family members managed to escape.
Deutsche Well says the reporter himself, whose identity was not revealed, is already based in Germany where he is also working. Deutsche Welle didn''t give further details on the killed and injured family members or say where and when exactly in Afghanistan the killing took place. The director of Deutsche Welle, Peter Limbourg, sharply condemned the killing saying that, “the killing of a close family member of one of our journalists by the Taliban is incredible tragic and a proof for the imminent danger that all of our workers and their families are exposed to in Afghanistan.”
He added: “The Taliban are obviously conducting organized searches for journalists in Kabul and the provinces. Time is running out.” Limbourg added that the homes of at least three other Deutsche Welle reporters were searched by the Taliban in Afghanistan in recent days and weeks.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban's desire for recognition is only leverage point, says UN chief
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday the Taliban's desire for international recognition is the Security Council's only leverage to press for inclusive government and respect for rights, particularly for women, in Afghanistan. Guterres told reporters he discussed that leverage with the 15-member body during a closed-door meeting on Monday, urging them to remain united.
The Taliban seized power on Sunday, 20 years after they were ousted by a U.S.-led invasion for refusing to hand over al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Guterres said he was ready to speak with the Taliban himself "when it is clear with whom should I speak, for what purpose." For now, U.N. officials in Kabul have been in close contact with the Taliban, he added.
"It's very important for the international community to be united, for all members of the Security Council to be united, to use the only leverage that exists, which is the interests of the Taliban for legitimacy for recognition," he said. He said a common front in dealing with the Taliban could push them to form an inclusive government, respect human rights, continue to allow evacuations from Kabul and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorism.
"We've all heard the purported assurances from the Taliban, that the rights of women and girls will be respected. What we hear from women on the ground does not bear this out," Ireland's U.N. Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, a member of the U.N. Security Council, told reporters on Thursday. "This is linked very much to the question of the legitimacy of any government," she said.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Republican senators seek accountability for US military equipment in Taliban's hands
Over two dozen Republican senators on Thursday sought accountability from the Biden administration over US military equipment that landed into the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan. "As we watched the images coming out of Afghanistan as the Taliban retook the country, we were horrified to see US equipment – including UH-60 Black Hawks – in the hands of the Taliban," Republican Senators wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
In the letter, Senators Bill Cassidy, Marco Rubio and 23 Senate Republicans asked the Biden administration to account for taxpayer-funded American military equipment that may have fallen into the Taliban’s hands. "It is unconscionable that high-tech military equipment paid for by US taxpayers has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and their terrorist allies. Securing US assets should have been among the top priorities for the US Department of Defense prior to announcing the withdrawal from Afghanistan," the senators wrote.
In their letter to Austin, they sought a full account of military equipment provided to the Afghan armed forces last year. "An assessment of the likelihood that the Taliban will seek to work with Russia, Pakistan, Iran, or the People’s Republic of China for training, fuel, or infrastructure necessary to utilise the equipment they do not have the capabilities to use on their own,” the letter said.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban urge people to leave airport in Afghan capital after 12 killed since Sunday
A total of 12 people have been killed in and around the airport in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Taliban and NATO officials said, since the Taliban seized the city on Sunday, triggering a rush of fearful people trying to leave. The deaths were caused either by gun shots or in stampedes, the Taliban official said on Thursday, and he urged people still crowded at the gates of the facility to go home if they did not have the legal right to travel.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Protests against Afghan Taliban spread in early signs of resistance
Flag-waving protesters took to the streets of more Afghan cities on Thursday as popular opposition to the Taliban spread, and a witness said several people were killed when the militants fired on a crowd in Asadabad in the east.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Business of Pakistani human smugglers boom as thousands of Afghans attempt to leave after Taliban takeover
Pakistani human smugglers operating in areas bordering Afghanistan are raking in money as thousands of Afghans try to exit their country by clandestine means following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. Thousands of Afghans are fleeing Afghanistan to escape the new Taliban regime and seek asylum in different nations, including the US and many European nations, in quest of a better living environment. “Business has been booming even before the Taliban entered Kabul. We have smuggled in around 1,000 people from across the border since last week and business is booming,” Hameed Gul, who operates from a small town near the Chaman-Spin Boldak border with Afghanistan, told PTI over telephone.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Indonesia air force sends plane to repatriate citizens from Afghanistan
The air force of Indonesia will bring home 15 of its citizens from Afghanistan, its foreign ministry said on Friday, amid chaos and uncertainty in the country after the hardline Islamist Taliban seized power.
More than 18,000 people of various nationalities have been evacuated in recent days from Kabul airport, the site of mayhem and despair as thousands of people try to flee following the rapid takeover of key Afghan cities including Kandahar then Kabul, as U.S. and other foreign troops withdrew.
Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim majority country, will pick up 15 of its citizens, said foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah. Faizasyah did not provide further details, though a military spokesman said the air force was sending a flight to Kabul which was expected to arrive home later on Friday.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Kamala Harris faces task of convincing Asia of U.S. reliability after Afghan chaos
Vice President Kamala Harris, in a visit to Singapore and Vietnam next week that aims to counter China's growing influence, will have to contend with a new problem: the collapse of Afghanistan, which has left allies questioning the credibility of U.S. foreign policy promises.
U.S. allies have complained they were not fully consulted on President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, which appeared at odds with his promises to recommit to global engagement. With the Taliban's rapid takeover putting their national security interests at risk, countries in both Europe and Asia are wondering whether they can rely on Washington to fulfill long-standing security commitments, experts say.
Harris' trip aims to establish deeper ties with Southeast Asia, a region Washington considers key to checking Chinese expansion. A senior White House official told Reuters this month the vice president's focus would be on defending international rules in the South China Sea, strengthening U.S. regional leadership and expanding security cooperation. Regional experts like Murray Hiebert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies said Harris would have to try to reassure her hosts that Washington's commitment to Southeast Asia is firm and not a parallel to Afghanistan.
"The debacle in Afghanistan will prompt concerns again about U.S. staying power and keeping promises to allies," he said. The chaotic evacuations from Kabul have evoked images of the 1975 U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, whose Communist-ruled government Washington sought to isolate for two decades after the Vietnam War, but with which it now enjoys warm ties given shared concerns about China
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | NATO pledges to speed evacuations from Afghanistan as criticism mounts
More than 18,000 people have been flown out of Kabul since the Taliban took over Afghanistan’s capital, a NATO official said on Friday, pledging to redouble evacuation efforts as criticism of the West’s handling of the crisis mounted. Thousands of people, desperate to flee the country, continued to throng the airport, the official who declined to be identified told Reuters.
The speed with which the Taliban conquered Afghanistan as U.S. and other foreign troops withdrew surprised even their own leaders and has left power vacuums in many places. The Taliban urged unity ahead of Friday prayers, the first since they seized power, calling on imams to persuade people not to leave Afghanistan amid chaotic scenes at the airport, protests and reports of violence.
A witness told Reuters several people were killed in the eastern city of Asadabad on Thursday when Taliban militants fired on a crowd demonstrating their allegiance to the vanquished Afghan republic, as the Taliban set about establishing an emirate, governed by strict Islamic laws. There were similar shows of defiance in two other cities – Jalalabad and Khost – in the east, as Afghans used celebrations of the nation’s 1919 independence from British control to vent their anger with the Taliban takeover.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Several countries, organisations reaching out to Taliban leaders to seek help in evacuation: Taliban official
Taliban cadres are allowed to accompany Afghan civilians entering mosques for weekly Friday prayers, a Taliban official told Reuters on Friday. The official also said several countries and organisations have reached out to Taliban leaders for help in evacuating their nationals or employees from Kabul.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Taliban urged to allow fleeing Afghans safe passage
Taliban fighters manned checkpoints around Kabul's airport on Thursday as concerns built they were blocking Afghans from reaching evacuation flights, with the United States demanding safe passage. Tens of thousands of people have tried to flee Afghanistan since the hardline Islamist militants swept into the capital on Sunday, completing a stunning rout of government forces and ending two decades of war.
Taliban leaders have in recent days repeatedly vowed not to seek revenge against their opponents, while seeking to project an image of tolerance. They have also sort to portray growing political authority, with Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar returning from exile and other senior figures meeting ex-president Hamid Karzai.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Russia offers to fly Afghans out of Afghanistan to other countries
Russia is ready to provide its civilian aircraft to fly Afghan citizens from Afghanistan to other countries, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. "We are ready to offer the services of Russian civilian aviation to provide flights for any number of Afghan citizens including women and children to any foreign countries that show interest in receiving and accommodating them," Zakharova said at a news briefing.
Afghanistan-Taliban Crisis LIVE Updates | Antony Blinken, Jaishankar discuss situation in Afghanistan, agree to continue coordination
US Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke with India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday over the chaotic situation in Afghanistan. The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on Sunday. Their sudden victory, which comes as the US withdraws from the country following a 20-year-war, has sparked chaos at Kabul''s airport, from where America and allied nations are trying to safely evacuate thousands of citizens and allies. "Secretary Blinken and Minister Jaishankar discussed Afghanistan and agreed to continued coordination," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a readout of the call.
