Afghanistan News Highlights: Taliban bans co-education in Herat province

Biden is facing criticism for a chaotic and often violent scene outside the airport as crowds struggle to reach safety inside. He called the past week “heartbreaking," but insisted his administration was working hard to smooth and speed the evacuations. Around 80 Indian nationals were evacuated on Saturday from Kabul by a transport military aircraft of the Indian Air Force amid a deteriorating security scenario in the Afghan capital, people familiar with the development said. Stay tuned for more updates.

EU warns Taliban it has not recognised their regime

The European Union's top officials warned the Taliban on Saturday that the current conversations being held to secure the exit of as many Afghan evacuees as possible do not mean the bloc is prepared to recognise the new regime.

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Anti-Taliban forces say they've taken three districts in Afghanistan's north

Forces holding out against the Taliban in northern Afghanistan say they have taken three districts close to the Panjshir valley where remnants of government forces and other militia groups have gathered.

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As Kabul turmoil mounts, Taliban's PR offensive falters

In the last few days, TV crews from Afghanistan's Al-Emarah Studio, which produces pro-Taliban multimedia content, have been out on the streets of Kabul speaking to residents with reassuring messages about life returning to normal.

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Taliban 'set woman on fire for bad cooking', shipping sex slaves in coffins: Report

Afghan women are being shipped into neighbouring countries in coffins and used as sex slaves, according to a former judge.

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Taliban turn back govt employees returning to work

Afghan government employees in Kabul were blocked by Taliban militants from returning to work on Saturday, the first day of the working week.

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Taliban bans co-education in Afghanistan's Herat province: Report

Days after vowing to respect women's rights in Afghanistan, Taliban officials in the restive Herat province have banned co-education in government and private universities, describing it as the 'root of all evils in society'.

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Govt must step up outreach in J&K amid Taliban triumph in Afghanistan, says ex-Army chief

The government needs to step up its outreach in Jammu and Kashmir, reassuring the people that India will continue to be a secular democracy as the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan is likely to trigger a renewed offensive by Pakistan-based terror groups in the region, former Army chief General Shankar Roychowdhury said.

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All Indians citizens in Kabul awaiting evacuation are safe. They were offered lunch and have now left for Kabul airport: Government sources. (ANI)

Leaving Afghanistan: An Indian's tale of fear, gloom and disguise plan

When the New Delhi-bound Kam Airlines flight finally took off from Kabul airport hours before the Taliban entered the city on August 15, Subrata, an Indian working in a senior position of an International NGO (INGO) posted in Afghanistan, sent up a silent prayer of thanks.

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Who's who in the Taliban leadership

The Taliban's senior officials were gathering in the Afghan capital Saturday for talks with elders and politicians on forming a government after their stunning sweep to power last weekend.

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In Kabul, a fearful wait for US to deliver on evacuation vow

Tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan waited nervously on Saturday to see whether the United States would deliver on President Joe Biden’s new pledge to evacuate all Americans and all Afghans who aided the war effort. Meanwhile, the Taliban leader arrived in Kabul for talks with the group's leadership on forming a new government.

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14 arrested in Assam over supporting Taliban on social media: Police

Fourteen people were arrested from across Assam for alleged social media posts supporting the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, police said on Saturday.

The arrests were made since Friday night and they have been booked under different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, IT Act and CrPC, a senior police officer said. (PTI)

Taliban co-founder Baradar in Kabul for talks to set up government

Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar arrived in Kabul on Saturday for talks on establishing a new "inclusive" government in Afghanistan, a senior official said.

Other senior Taliban leaders seen in the capital in recent days include Khalil Haqqani -- one of America's most wanted terrorists with a $5 million bounty on his head.

Pro-Taliban social media feeds showed Haqqani meeting Gulbuddin Hekmatyar -- a former bitter rival during the brutal civil war of the early 1990s, but still influential in Afghan politics. (AFP)

India evacuates around 80 people from Kabul

Around 80 Indian nationals were evacuated on Saturday from Kabul by a transport military aircraft of the Indian Air Force amid a deteriorating security scenario in the Afghan capital, people familiar with the development said.

The aircraft landed at Dushanbe in Tajikistan after evacuating the Indians, they said, adding the flight is expected to arrive at the Hindon airbase near Delhi in the evening.

India has already evacuated 200 people, including the Indian envoy and other staffers of its embassy in Kabul, in two C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft of the IAF after the Taliban seized control of Kabul on Sunday. (PTI)

Taliban co-founder in Afghan capital as evacuation scramble continues

The Taliban's senior leadership was gathering in the Afghan capital Saturday to map out a future "inclusive" government, as desperation deepened for thousands still scrambling to leave the country via a chaotic evacuation operation.

A senior Taliban official told AFP that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar -- who co-founded the group -- would meet "jihadi leaders and politicians for an inclusive government set-up". (AFP)

Bahrain says allows airport use for evacuations

The island kingdom of Bahrain has said it is “allowing flights to make use of Bahrain's transit facilities” amid the evacuations of Afghanistan.

The kingdom made the announcement in a statement released early Saturday.

Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf off Saudi Arabia, is home to the USNavy's 5th Fleet. (Reuters)

Taliban co-founder Baradar in Kabul for talks on setting up the government

President Biden warns lives could be lost in massive Kabul airlift operations

President Joe Biden has said that the mass evacuation from Kabul, one of the largest and most difficult airlifts in history, is not without risk of loss of lives, but vowed to bring all Americans and partners home from Afghanistan, as his administration grappled with the fallout from the chaotic exit.

Biden’s remarks on Friday come as the US rushed to airlift as many people as possible out of the Afghan capital ahead of a self-imposed deadline to depart Afghanistan by August 31. (PTI)

An Indian Air Force C-130J transport aircraft took off from Kabul with over 85 Indians. The aircraft landed in Tajikistan for refuelling. Indian government officials are helping in the evacuation of Indian citizens on the ground in Kabul, sources have told ANI.

Blinken says 12 nations to host Afghan evacuees

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says 13 countries have thus far agreed to at least temporarily host at-risk Afghans evacuated from Afghanistan and a dozen more have agreed to serve as transit points for evacuees, including Americans and others.

Blinken says in a Friday statement that potential Afghan refugees not already cleared for resettlement in the United States will be housed at facilities in Albania, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Mexico, Poland, Qatar, Rwanda, Ukraine and Uganda. (AP)

Taliban to unveil new Afghan govt framework within weeks, official says

The Taliban aim to unveil a new governing framework for Afghanistan in the next few weeks, a spokesman for the Islamist movement said on Saturday, after the insurgents' swift takeover of the South Asian nation.

"Legal, religious and foreign policy experts in the Taliban aim to present the new governing framework in the next few weeks," the official told Reuters.

Indonesia moves Afghan diplomatic mission to Pakistan, evacuates dozens

Indonesia has moved its Afghanistan diplomatic mission from Kabul to Pakistan, its foreign minister said on Saturday, after its air force evacuated dozens in the wake of the Taliban's seizure of power.

"Temporarily, the diplomatic mission in Kabul will be done from Islamabad," Retno Marsudi said in televised remarks at the Halim military airport in Jakarta.

The initial plan had been to "continue our diplomatic mission in Kabul with a small team" but changed due to a "new development", which she did not specify. She did not take questions. (AFP)

Biden discussed Afghanistan with Italy's Draghi: White House

President Joe Biden spoke on Friday with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi about policy in Afghanistan and agreed to "plan a common approach" on the subject at a G7 meeting next week, the White House said in a statement.

The two leaders discussed "the importance of continued close coordination between their military and civilian personnel in Kabul," according to the White House. (Reuters)

The US military in Afghanistan sent helicopters to rescue over 150 Americans unable to reach the Kabul airport gates, an official said Friday, in the first evidence that US forces were willing and able to go beyond the US-secured compound to help people seeking evacuation.

The news came as American officials confirmed evacuation operations from Afghanistan stalled for about seven hours Friday, because the receiving base in Qatar was overflowing and could not take in evacuees. (AFP)

Official Taliban websites go offline, though reasons unknown

Taliban websites that delivered the victorious insurgents' official messages to Afghans and the world at large in five languages went offline abruptly Friday, indicating an effort to try to squelch them.

It is not immediately clear, though, why the sites in the Pashto, Urdu, Arabic, English and Dari languages went offline Friday. They had been shielded by Cloudflare, a San Francisco-based content delivery network and denial-of-service protection provider. (AP)

Biden pledges to Americans in Kabul: 'We will get you home'

Biden's comments at a White House news conference Friday come as the US government struggles to ramp up a massive airlift clearing Americans and other foreigners and vulnerable Afghans through the Kabul airport, rescuing them from a Taliban takeover of the country.

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Pak's strategic interest in Afghanistan is to counter Indian influence, mitigate spillover: US official

Pakistan's strategic security objectives in Afghanistan almost certainly continue to be countering Indian influence and mitigating spillover of the Afghan civil war into Pakistani territory, an American Inspector General has said, citing inputs from the Defense Intelligence Agency.

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How Taliban turned social media into a tool for control

In one video, a Taliban official reassured female health workers that they could keep their jobs. In another, militants told Sikhs, a minority religious group, that they were free and protected. Still others suggested a new lawfulness in Kabul, Afghanistan, with Talib fighters holding looters and thieves at gunpoint.

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