Afghanistan News Highlights: We want the world to trust us, say Taliban

A top Taliban official has met with a Qatari official before reportedly leaving the country for Afghanistan. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Facebook has banned Taliban and it will remove all accounts maintained by the organisation. US President Joe Biden, while defending the pullout of US military troops from Afghanistan said that the pace at which Kabul collapsed was the fault of the country's leadership. Stay tuned for more updates.

Macron sparks controversy with Afghan illegal migration pledge

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday faced accusations from the left and activists that he was letting down ordinary Afghans after he pledged a robust European approach against illegal migration in the wake of the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

His stance however gladdened the right in France in what is due to be one of the most contentious battlegrounds as Macron prepares for 2022 presidential elections that may come down to a duel with the far-right.

We want the world to trust us, say Taliban

Taliban has pardoned everybody, there would be no revenge against anybody, including those who worked with foreign forces, he said.

Media outlets are urged to continue their activities in Afghanistan, provided they don't contradict Islamic values, are impartial and not broadcast anything that goes against national interests, the spokesperson said, according to media reports.

There would be no discrimination against woman, says Taliban spokesperson

Taliban spokesperson also said there would be no discrimination against women in Afghanistan, adding that women will have their rights based on Islam. He further said they can work in health and other sectors where they are needed.

He also said that Afghans have the right to impose rules that match people's values and other countries should respect these rules, according to media reports.

The spokesperson said security of foreign embassies is important to Taliban and he also vowed to ensure that the embassies will be safe.

Islamic government to be established in Afghanistan, settlement will be reached, saysZabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesperson in the first press conference since the group took over power.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has landed in Kandahar, after leaving from Qatar, according to media reports.

I am legitmate care-taker President, says Amrullah Saleh, Afghan vice prez

PM Modi chairs meeting with CCS in light of situation in Afghan

People arriving from Afghanistan walk as Pakistan's and Taliban's flags are seen in the background, at the Friendship Gate crossing point in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan.

Credit: Reuters Photo

NATO chief blames Afghan leadership for Kabul collapse

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday the alliance had been surprised by the speed of the Taliban victory in Afghanistan but blamed Afghan leaders for the "tragedy".

"Ultimately, the Afghan political leadership failed to stand up to the Taliban and to achieve the peaceful solution that Afghans desperately wanted," he said.

"This failure of the Afghan leadership led to the tragedy we are witnessing today."

Taliban spokesperson to host press conferance, invites journalists

Top Taliban leader leaves Qatar for Afghanistan

A top Taliban official has met with a Qatari official before reportedly leaving the country for Afghanistan.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar met with Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Tuesday.

A statement said the two “reviewed the latest security and political developments in Afghanistan, stressing the need for the protection of civilians, intensifying necessary efforts to achieve national reconciliation, working for a comprehensive political settlement and a peaceful transfer of power.”

AP

Germany halts development aid for Afghanistan, says minister

Germany has halted development aid for Afghanistan, the minister responsible said on Tuesday, after the Taliban swept back into power.

"State cooperation on development is suspended for the time being," Development Minister Gerd Mueller said in an interview with the Rheinische Post newspaper. "We are working at pace to evacuate from Afghanistan, those local development officials and NGO workers who want to leave."

Uganda to take 2,000 Afghan refugees at US request

Uganda said on Tuesday it had agreed to a request from the United States to take in temporarily 2,000 refugees from Afghanistan fleeing after the Taliban takeover.

The east African nation has long experience receiving people escaping conflict and currently hosts about 1.4 million refugees, most from South Sudan.

Turkey says it welcomes Taliban statements since they seized control

Turkey is in talks with all parties in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, and views positively the messages of the Islamist militants since they took control of the country, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

Cavusoglu was speaking a day after Turkish security sources said Ankara had dropped plans to guard and operate Kabul airport following the withdrawal of other NATO forces from Afghanistan because of the chaos which accompanied the Taliban victory.

WHO concerned about Covid-19 in Afghanistan as jabs slow

The World Health Organization (WHO) is worried about the spread of the coronavirus in Afghanistan as the upheaval caused by the Taliban advance has slowed vaccinations, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic also told a U.N. briefing that the chaos at Kabul airport, where thousands of people are trying to flee the Taliban, was slowing deliveries of medical supplies.

Reuters

Australia will not be able to evacuate as many Afghans as it wants: Morrison

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says his government will not be able to evacuate as many Afghans from Kabul as he wanted.

Australia is sending three transport and air-to-air refueling jets with 250 military personnel to repatriate more than 130 Australians and their families from Afghanistan.

Australia also wants to evacuate hundreds of Afghans who had worked for Australian troops and diplomats in roles such as interpreters.

What Afghanistan's fall means for the Middle East

In the 19th century, the phrase “The Great Game” was used to describe competition for power and influence in Afghanistan, and neighbouring central and south Asia territories, between the British and Russian empires.

Neither side prevailed in what became known as the “graveyard of empires”. Read more

Life returning to a new normal as Taliban consolidate power

Gone are Western clothes favoured by the fashion-conscious in the Afghan capital, with men on the streets now wearing traditional shalwar kameez. And there are hardly any women to be seen.

"The fear is there," said a shopkeeper Tuesday, asking not to be named after he opened his neighbourhood provisions store.

Life was returning to a new normal in Kabul as cautious residents ventured out of their homes to see what life would be like under the Taliban following their astonishing return to power at the weekend. (AFP)

Not abandoned people of Afghanistan: Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan

"It's not that we've abandoned people of Afghanistan, their welfare and our relationship with them is very much in our mind. We'll try and continue our interaction with them, I can't exactly say in what form as the situation is changing," Ambassador Rudrendra Tandon told reporters in Jamnagar. Read more

Facebook Spokesperson adds that the platform hasa dedicated team of Afghanistan experts, who are native Dari and Pashto speakers and they have knowledge of local context, to help themidentify and alertabout emerging issues on the platform.

Facebook bans Taliban, to remove accounts maintained by the organisation

The Taliban are sanctioned as a terrorist organisation under US law and we've banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organisation Policies.This means we remove accounts maintained by/on behalf of the Taliban and ban their praise, support and representation, Facebook Spokesperson tells ANI.

Taliban takeover of Afghanistan may boost pan-Islamist militant groups in Kashmir

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has led to apprehensions that it may not only embolden militants in Jammu and Kashmir but boost pan-Islamist terror groups in the region.

Security experts believe that the Taliban’s return to power will have a negative impact in Kashmir as it immensely relieves the Pakistan army and its spy agency ISI who can shift terror training from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir to Afghanistan to avoid international scrutiny. Read more

US Secretary of State Blinken, Jaishankar discuss Afghan situation

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underlined the urgency of restoring airport operations in Kabul as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to him over phone and discussed the situation in the war-ravaged country after the Taliban recaptured the Afghan capital of Kabul.

'Don't want women to be victims': Taliban urge women to join its government

A Taliban official has announced a general “amnesty” for all in Afghanistan and urged women to join its government. Enamullah Samangani, member of Islamic Emirate's cultural commission, made the comments Tuesday on Afghan state television, which the militants now control.

“The Islamic Emirate don't want women to be victims," he said, using the militants' term for Afghanistan.

He added: “The structure of government is not fully clear, but based on experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership and all sides should join.”

'Shocking': With grief and dismay, US veterans watch Afghanistan fall

A decade after returning from Afghanistan, Marc Silvestri was convinced it was time for his comrades to come home too. But watching the chaotic pullout unfold in real time has stunned the army veteran.

"It's been a tough couple days," the 43-year-old head of veterans services in Revere, Massachusetts told AFP.

"I was in favor of the withdrawal, I thought it was time. Twenty-plus years, billions of dollars spent, I never expected the speed and the brazenness of the Taliban would be what it is," he said.

Read more

Taliban's Afghanistan takeover presents fresh challenge for social media companies

The Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan poses a new challenge for big US tech companies on handling content created by a group considered to be terrorists by some world governments. Social media giant Facebook confirmed on Monday that it designates the Taliban a terrorist group and bans it and content supporting it from its platforms. Read more

Watch | Evacuated Indians from Kabul chant 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' after landing in Jamnagar

Afghanistan crisis: Shashi Tharoor doubts presence of 2 Malayali Taliban in their victory celebration video

Taliban announce 'general amnesty' for government officials

The Taliban Tuesday declared a general amnesty for all government officials and urged them to return to work, two days after taking power following a lightning sweep through the country. "A general amnesty has been declared for all... so you should start your routine life with full confidence," said a statement from the Taliban. Read more

Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft that took off from Kabul with Indian officials has landed in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

Afghan central bank chief flees Kabul, blaming Ghani for chaos

The head of Afghanistan's central bank has fled Kabul, questioned the loyalty of Afghan security forces and blamed President Ashraf Ghani and his inexperienced advisors for the country's swift and chaotic fall to the Taliban.

Doval, US NSA held talks last evening to coordinate Indian officials' evacuation.

Jaishankar arrives in New York, will chair signature Presidency events at UNSC, discuss Afghan situation

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who arrived here to chair two high-level signature events this week under India’s current Security Council Presidency, has said that he expects to discuss the situation in Afghanistan during his engagements at the United Nations. Jaishankar arrived on Monday as the Security Council held an emergency meeting on the situation in Afghanistan, the second time in just over the 10 days that the powerful UN body met under India’s Presidency for the month of August to discuss the rapidly deteriorating and unraveling situation in the war-torn country. (PTI)

Taliban discussing Afghan govt formation in Doha

The Taliban said on Monday that discussions are underway in Doha about a future government in Afghanistan, including its structure and name, and they are expected to report on the process in the very near future. A high-ranking official of the Taliban told TOLOnews that their leadership is busy in discussions in Doha and is in contact with the international community and political parties within Afghanistan. Read more

Taliban mullahs vow softer approach to win over skeptical world

On the eve of the US invasion in 2001, a top Taliban diplomat issued a warning: “Afghanistan is a swamp. People enter here laughing, are exiting injured.” The US, which soon afterward ousted the Taliban from Kabul in a matter of weeks, is now racing to evacuate the capital after the militant group seized control of it Sunday much faster than anyone predicted. Read more

Military evacuation flights taking off from Kabul

Military flights evacuating diplomats and civilians from Afghanistan started taking off on Tuesday morning, a Western security official at Kabul airport told Reuters. The airport runway and tarmac, overrun on Monday by thousands of people desperate to flee from the Afghanistan capital, are now clear of crowds, the official said.

In view of the prevailing circumstances, India has decided that its Ambassador in Kabul and his Indian staff will move to India immediately, saysMEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

IAF C-17 aircraft takes off from Kabul with over 120 Indian officials on board

Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft has taken off from Kabul with more than 120 Indian officials in it. The staff was brought inside the secure areas of the airport safely, late last evening, according to ANI quoting sources.

It's important in the national interest to furnish financial assistance of $500 million from the US Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs as a result of the situation in Afghanistan: White House

Get Afghan refugees out, then let them in

This is not because withdrawal was a mistake. For months, some national security experts have insisted that, even with military victory impossible, it was worth maintaining the status quo indefinitely in order to forestall the sort of nightmare we’re now witnessing. After all, there were only about 2,500 US troops in the country before Joe Biden began pulling out, and not a single American combat death in 2021. Read more

Buck stops with me, stand by my decision: Biden defends America's pullout from Afghanistan

President Joe Biden broke days of silence Monday on the chaotic American pullout from Afghanistan, doubling down on his decision as he fired scorching criticism at the country's former Western-backed leadership for failing to resist the Taliban. Read more

Taliban's Afghanistan takeover presents fresh challenge for social media companies

The Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan poses a new challenge for big UStech companies on handling content created by a group considered to be terrorists by some world governments. Social media giant Facebook confirmed on Monday that it designates the Taliban a terrorist group and bans it and content supporting it from its platforms.

But Taliban members have reportedly continued to use Facebook's end-to-end encrypted messaging service WhatsApp to communicate directly with Afghanis despite the company prohibiting it under rules against dangerous organizations.(Reuters)

Taliban made Kabul safer in the first 24 hours than before: Russia's ambassador to Afghanistan

Russia's ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov said Taliban had made Kabul safer in the first 24 hours than it had been under the previous authorities.

Afghan chaos a concern for families of jailed Kerala women

The turmoil in Afghanistan has aggravated the concerns of families of four Malayali women who have been languishing in an Afghan prison since November 2019 after the IS operatives surrendered.

Read More

Afghanistan's female footballers make tearful calls for help

In frantic phone calls and voice messages, Khalida Popal can hear the distress and tearful pleas for help.

The football players in the Afghanistan women's national team that Popal helped establish now fear for their lives after the Taliban swept to regain control of the country after two decades.

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Afghan students in Dharwad worried about political turmoil back home

The ongoing political turmoil in Afghanistan has left the students from the war-ravaged country in Dharwad a worried lot.

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Biden warns Taliban of swift and forceful response if US personnel are attacked

US President JoeBidenon Monday warned the Taliban of swift and forceful response from the US if they attack American personnel or disrupt their operations in Afghanistan.

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Kabul airport has reopened, says US general

Kabul's airport reopened early Tuesday Afghanistan time after being closed for hours by US forces following a breakdown in security on the tarmac that interrupted evacuation operations, a US general said.

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UK to launch resettlement scheme for vulnerable Afghans

Britain will launch a new resettlement scheme for Afghans who are most in need of help, especially women and girls, after the Taliban seized control of the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce.

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Biden defends Afghan evacuation, but admits Taliban takeover quicker than anticipated

President Joe Biden broke days of silence Monday on the chaotic American pullout from Afghanistan, doubling down on his decision as he fired scorching criticism at the country's former Western-backed leadership for failing to resist the Taliban.

Read More