Taliban fighters patrol in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP)Afghanistan-Taliban crisis Live Updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the evolving situation in Afghanistan. Earlier, Modi had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the Afghanistan situation and its implications on the region and the world.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin said that a Ukranian plane tasked with the evacuation of Ukrainians from Afghanistan was hijacked and flown into Iran. The plane was “practically stolen”, and flew into Iran with an unidentified group of passengers onboard instead of airlifting Ukrainians, according to Yenin.
In other news, the top UN human rights official Michelle Bachelet said that she had received credible reports of serious violations committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, including summary executions of civilians, restrictions on women and on protests against their rule. This could be among the topics of discussion in today’s meeting of G7 countries.
Expressing concern over the situation prevailing in Afghanistan, India on Tuesday called upon the international community to ensure full support to the Afghan people and said it hopes that it does not pose a challenge to its neighbours and the country is not used by terrorist groups such as LeT and JeM.
In his address at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the situation in Afghanistan, Indian ambassador Indra Mani Pandey said that a “grave” humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Afghanistan and everyone is concerned about the increasing violations of fundamental rights of the Afghan people. Read the full report here.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid will hold a press conference at the Media Center in Kabul. The press conference will start shortly.
America's top spy held a secret meeting with the Taliban's de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the two sides since the militant group seized the Afghan capital, a media report said on Tuesday.
CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting in Kabul on Monday with Baradar in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the Taliban and the Biden administration since the militants seized the Afghan capital, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed US officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the Associated Press, the CIA declined to comment on the Taliban meeting but the discussions likely involved the impending August 31 deadline for the US military to conclude its airlift of US citizens and Afghan allies, it added.
India on Tuesday said that as a neighbour of Afghanistan, the current situation prevailing in the country is of great concern. While the security situation remains precarious, a grave humanitarian crisis is unfolding, India said at the UNHRC.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the evolving situation in Afghanistan.
"Had a detailed and useful exchange of views with my friend President Putin on recent developments in Afghanistan. We also discussed issues on the bilateral agenda, including India-Russia cooperation against Covid-19. We agreed to continue close consultations on important issues," Modi tweeted.
Earlier, Modi had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the Afghanistan situation and its implications on the region and the world.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said an Afghan evacuated from Kabul to Paris and suspected of links to the Taliban was detained by French police on Tuesday.
According to the Associated Press, the man is one of five Afghans placed under strict surveillance by France’s intelligence agency for possible links to the Taliban. The five men were required to stay in a hotel in the Paris region for quarantine, as are all evacuees who arrive in France without having been fully vaccinated.
“One left the place where he was asked to stay” and police arrested him, the minister told media.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soereide says the evacuation deadline in Afghanistan should be extended beyond August 31.
'One of the main concerns is that the airport will be closed,' Eriksen Soereide told media on Tuesday morning.
'The civilian part is closed now, so we are completely dependent on the US military operation being maintained in order to be able to evacuate,' he said.
The Taliban have appointed a new finance minister, an intelligence chief, and an acting interior minister in Afghanistan, the Pajhwok news agency reported on Tuesday.
It said Gul Agha would be the finance minister and Sadr Ibrahim would be the acting interior minister. Najibullah would be intelligence chief, while Mullah Shirin would be Kabul governor and Hamdullah Nomani the mayor of the capital. No other details were immediately available. (Reuters)
India's complex mission to evacuate its citizens and Afghan partners from Kabul after its swift takeover by the Taliban last week has been named as "Operation Devi Shakti".
The name of the operation was known when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar mentioned it in a tweet on Tuesday while referring to the arrival of a fresh batch of 78 evacuees in Delhi.
"Op Devi Shakti continues. 78 evacuees from Kabul arrive via Dushanbe. Salute @IAF_MCC, @AirIndiain and #TeamMEA for their untiring efforts. #DeviShakti," he said. (PTI)
A Ukranian plane tasked with evacuation of Ukranians from Afghanistan was hijacked and flown into Iran, Russian news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, quoting Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin.
'Last Sunday, our plane was hijacked by other people. On Tuesday, the plane was practically stolen from us, it flew into Iran with an unidentified group of passengers onboard instead of airlifting Ukrainians. Our next three evacuation attempts were also not successful because our people could not get into the airport,' Yenin said, reports TASS.
The top U.N. human rights official Michelle Bachelet said on Tuesday that she had received credible reports of serious violations committed by the Taliban in Afghanistan, including summary executions of civilians and restrictions on women and on protests against their rule.
Bachelet urged the U.N. Human Rights Council, holding an emergency session at the request of Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to set up a mechanism to closely monitor Taliban actions.
"A fundamental red line will be the Taliban's treatment of women and girls," she told the Geneva forum. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian plane that arrived in Afghanistan to evacuate Ukrainians has been hijacked by unidentified people who flew it into Iran, reports news agency ANI.
ANI has cited Russian News Agency TASS as having sent out the alert, quoting Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin.
Starting today, Airbnb will begin housing 20,000 Afghan refugees globally for free, company CEO Brian Chesky said on Twitter.
"To make this happen, we are working closely with http://Airbnb.org, NGOs, and partners orgs on the ground to support the most pressing needs," he wrote, adding "If you’re willing to host a refugee family, reach out and I’ll connect you with the right people here to make it happen!"
Russia has reinforced its military base in Tajikistan with Kornet anti-tank guided missiles, Interfax quoted the Central Military District command as saying on Tuesday, amid instability in neighbouring Afghanistan. (Reuters)
In the days before the Taliban took Kabul, an Afghan woman was doubled over sobbing on a bench in a bus station in eastern Turkey, her children wailing at her feet.
Fourteen Turkish security and migration officials swooped down on her and other Afghan asylum-seekers as our reporting team was interviewing them, part of an intensive crackdown by Turkey to apprehend Afghans crossing from Iran by the thousands and to prevent journalists from reporting on their plight. As her husband tried to gather their belongings, the woman clutched her stomach and retched. After prolonged questioning, they were escorted to a police vehicle.
In Panjshir Valley, former Afghan miltary men and anti-Taliban forces are preparing to take on the Islamic fundamentalist group. Taliban has said that they have surrounded the valley, but is looking forward to negotiate peace.
Western governments are unlikely to extend the evacuation window to allow their citizens and Afghans more time to fly out of Kabul airport, Britain's defence minister Ben Wallace said.
US President Joe Biden will face pressure to extend an Aug. 31 deadline to evacuate thousands seeking to flee the Taliban in Afghanistan when he meets Group of Seven leaders at a virtual meeting on Tuesday. The Taliban have said the Aug. 31 deadline is a red line.
Wallace told Sky News he was doubtful there would be an extension "not only because of what the Taliban has said but also if you look at the public statements of President Biden, I think it is unlikely." He added: "It is definitely worth us all trying and we will." (Reuters)
As foreign governments, aid institutions and companies scramble to evacuate staff from Afghanistan, a crucial question is emerging: should they engage with the ruling Taliban or abandon years of investment in the country and 38 million Afghans?
For foreign aid agencies the situation presents "a paradox," said Robert Crews, a Stanford University history professor and author of the 2015 book 'Afghan Modern: The History of a Global Nation.' "If you are an aid worker at a state hospital, you are serving a regime whose legitimacy is in the balance," he said. "But if everybody goes home, will the state collapse?"
Afghanistan's government budget is 70% to 80% funded by international donors, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said Michael McKinley, who served as ambassador to Afghanistan in 2015 and 2016. The country faces economic collapse without that aid.
"The Taliban is going to require substantial outside funding, unless they retreat to what they did from 1996 to 2001, which was essentially run the government to minimalist levels," said McKinley, now with the Cohen Group consultancy. (Reuters)
India on Tuesday brought back 78 people, including 25 of its nationals and a number of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated from Kabul to the Tajik city.
The group along with three copies of the Guru Granth Sahib was airlifted from Kabul to Dushanbe by a military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force on Monday. The evacuees were received at the Indira Gandhi International Airport by Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and V Muraleedharan.
An Air India flight brought back the people from Dushanbe. (PTI)
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday recieved three of last six Swaroops of Guru Granth Sahib from Kabul. The holy scriptures have been brought on a flight from Afghanistan that landed in New Delhi earlier today.
Puri received them amid chants of Satnam Waheguru. For Sikhs, the holy scripture is ‘Living Guru’ with teachings of Gurus (Gurbani) in them.