![A Taliban fighter walks past a beauty salon with images of women defaced using spray paint in Shar-e-Naw in Kabul on August 18, 2021 [AFP/Wakil Kohsar]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/000_9LB8EF.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
And what does the current debate on the Taliban and women’s rights tell us about Western (mis)perceptions of Muslims?
Live updates
Deadly chaos continues at Kabul airport: Live News
The British army says seven were killed near the airport, where thousands of Afghans trying to flee the Taliban takeover are gathered.
![Afghans gather on a roadside near the military part of the airport in Kabul hoping to flee from the country after the Taliban's military takeover of Afghanistan [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/000_9LE66F.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
22 Aug 2021
At least seven Afghans have been killed near Kabul’s international airport amid the chaos of those attempting to flee the Taliban takeover of the country, the British military has said.
But the UK defence ministry did not elaborate when they were killed and if the latest death toll is on top of the four people reportedly crushed to death on Saturday.
The airport is filled with thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who swept into Kabul a week ago. Shocking images of people clinging onto jets raised alarm over the slow evacuation process led by counties including the US and Britain.
There have been stampedes and crushing injuries in the crowds over the past few days.
The US embassy issued a new security warning, telling citizens not to travel to Kabul airport unless instructed by a US government representative. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden warned he could not predict the outcome of one of the “most difficult airlifts in history”.
Here are the latest updates:
Taliban official says provincial meetings aim to ensure safety, security
Taliban commanders are set to meet former governors and bureaucrats in more than 20 of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces over the next few days to ensure their safety and seek cooperation, an official with the group said.
“We are not forcing any former government official to join or prove their allegiance to us, they have a right to leave the country if they would like,” the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency.
The official said the group was seeking “complete clarity on foreign forces’” exit plan. “Managing chaos outside Kabul airport is a complex task.”
The British government wants evacuation flights to continue past August 31 deadline
The British government is pushing for evacuation missions from Afghanistan to continue past an August 31 deadline.
“Perhaps the Americans will be permitted to stay longer and they will have our complete support if they do,”wrote Defence Minister Ben Wallace in a guest article for The Mail.
US President Joe Biden has maintained a goal of having all US citizens evacuated out of Afghanistan by August 31 and so far has refused to commit to an extension.
“I have said all along that no nation will be able to get everyone out,” added Wallace. “If the US timetable remains, we have no time to lose to get the majority of the people waiting out,” he wrote.
Taliban fighters stand guard at a checkpoint in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood in Kabul [Rahmat Gul/AP]
World Food Programme warns of a humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan
The United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that a “humanitarian catastrophe” is looming in Afghanistan.
The programme’s Afghanistan director, Mary-Ellen McGroarty, called for close coordination within the international community in light of the rapidly evolving situation.
“Otherwise, an already horrendous situation is just going to become an absolute catastrophe, a complete humanitarian disaster,” the UN representative told the British Sunday newspaper The Observer. “We have to get food in now and get it to the communities in the provinces, before roads are blocked by snow,” warned McGroarty.
The WFP estimates that of the approximately 38 million people in Afghanistan today, 14 million already do not have enough to eat.
Pakistan’s national carrier suspends flights to Afghanistan
Abdullah Hafeez Khan, the spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines said the airline has suspended flights from Kabul and is not evacuating anyone at the moment.
Hafeez Khan said that the airline has no on-ground arrangements and lacks appropriate facilities at Kabul international airport to operate evacuation flights.
He said the suspension is temporary and the airline will resume its operations once the required arrangements are made there.
Afghans need to accept Taliban rule, says Hashmat Ghani
Hashmat Ghani, brother of Afghanistan’s deposed President Ashraf Ghani, says he has accepted the Taliban’s takeover of the country but has called for the formation of an inclusive government.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from his west Kabul home on Saturday, Ghani said acknowledging the new order in Kabul was a necessity “for the people of Afghanistan” at a time when foreign forces are only days away from their final withdrawal.
Ghani, a businessman and grand chieftain of Afghanistan’s nomadic Kochi population, has been meeting Taliban leaders for the past several days. He said he agreed to recognise the transition of power as a signal to influential political and cultural figures, as well as businesspeople.
Read more here.
US, Spain agree use of military bases in Spain for Afghan refugees
US President Joe Biden and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez agreed two military bases in southern Spain can be used to receive Afghans who have worked for the US government, the Spanish government said in a statement.
“Pedro Sanchez and Joe Biden agreed the use of the bases of Moron and Rota to host Afghans who worked with the US while in transit to other countries,” the statement read.
Sanchez tweeted on Saturday: “I have just had a meaningful conversation with President Joe Biden in which we have addressed several topics of common interest, particularly the situation inn Afghanistan and the collaboration between our governments in the evacuation of citizens from that country.”
British military: 7 Afghans killed in chaos around Kabul airport
Seven Afghan civilians have been killed in the chaos around Kabul’s international airport, the British military said.
“Conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging but we are doing everything we can to manage the situation as safely and securely as possible,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
Afghans face ‘impossible’ race against time to flee Kabul
Tens of thousands of Afghans are racing to flee their country as the US warns of security threats at Kabul airport and the EU says it is “impossible” to evacuate everyone at risk from the Taliban.
Terrified Afghans are still trying to flee, deepening a tragedy at Kabul airport where the US and its allies have been unable to cope with the huge numbers of people trying to get on evacuation flights.
“They were showing us their passports and shouting: ‘Take us with you… please take us with you’,” an AFP journalist said.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies
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