A protestor holds an Afghanistan flag outside the British Government's Home Office in London on Aug. 23, 2021, as part of a protest by the Afghanistan interpreters for the British Army. (AP Photo)Afghanistan-Taliban crisis Live Updates: With thousands of desperate Afghans and foreigners massed at Kabul’s airport in the hope of fleeing Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, US President Joe Biden is expected to decide as soon as Tuesday on whether to extend an Aug. 31 deadline to airlift Americans and their allies to safety.
A Taliban official said foreign forces had not sought an extension and it would not be granted if they had.
The World Health Organisation said tons of medical supplies were stuck because Kabul airport was closed to commercial flights. Meanwhile, Britain is expected to push world leaders to consider new sanctions on the Taliban when the G7 group of advanced economies meet on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Afghanistan.
A one-day series between Pakistan and Afghanistan, scheduled for next month in Sri Lanka, has been postponed until 2022 following the Taliban's takeover of power in Afghanistan.
The two countries were due to play three ODI matches in early September in Sri Lanka, but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said late on Monday that the Afghanistan Cricket Board had requested the series be postponed.
"PCB has accepted ACB's request to postpone next month's ODI series due to players' mental health issues, disruption in flight operations in Kabul, lack of broadcast facilities and increased COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka," the PCB tweeted."Both boards will try to reschedule the series in 2022." (Reuters)
A group of 78 people, including 25 Indian nationals, are enroute to Delhi from Tajikistan's capital city of Dushanbe, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said on Tuesday morning.
The evacuees were flown in from Kabul on an IAF aircraft, he added.
On Aug. 15, reports trickled in that Taliban has take over the Afghan city of Jalalabad.
The United States is in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through political and security channels, and is also consulting allies and partners on the ongoing evacuation progress from the Kabul airport, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Monday.
He, however, reiterated the US does not trust the Taliban.
"We are in talks with the Taliban on a daily basis through both political and security channels. I'm not going to get into the details of those discussions here, to protect those discussions, which are covering a wide range of issues," Sullivan told reporters at a White House news conference. Asked if President Biden is also likely to speak with the Taliban leadership, Sullivan said "that is not in contemplation at this time". (PTI)
The Biden Administration on Monday said it is now focused on completing its evacuation mission from Afghanistan by Aug. 31, the deadline for removing all American troops from the country.
However, a final decision to extend the evacuation mission from the Kabul airport would be taken by President Joe Biden, according to officials from the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon.
"Ultimately, it will be the President's decision how these proceeds, no one else's," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at a White House news conference. He was responding to questions on the August 31 deadline set by the Taliban for the US troops to leave the country.