Taliban Afghanistan Crisis Latest Update August 22, Kabul Latest News: As the situation continues to deteriorate in Afghanistan, several nations intensified evacuation efforts. India is likely to bring back more than 300 Indian nationals home from Kabul on Sunday as part of its evacuation mission. As many as 87 Indians were evacuated on Saturday by military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force. From Kabul airport, they were taken to Tajikistan capital Dushanbe and the group is expected to reach Delhi in a special Air India flight early on Sunday, according to PTI report.
“Bringing Indians home from Afghanistan! AI 1956 carrying 87 Indians departs from Tajikistan for New Delhi. 2 Nepalese nationals also evacuated. Assisted and supported by our Embassy @IndEmbDushanbe. More evacuation flights to follow,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a tweet. Separately, the Indian embassy in Qatar said 135 Indians, who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days, are also being sent to India.
Australia ran four flights into Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday night, evacuating over 300 people, including Australians, Afghan visa holders, New Zealanders, U.S. and British citizens.
Many countries, including the US and Germany, have advised their citizens in Afghanistan to avoid travelling to Kabul airport, citing security risks as thousands of desperate people gathered trying to flee almost a week after Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Taliban’s co-founder, Mullah Baradar has arrived in Kabul for talks with other leaders. The group is trying to hammer out a new government in Afghanistan.
As the situation worsens in Afghanistan, stay with us as we bring the latest news from the country:
US President Joe Biden is scheduled to virtually meet other leaders of the G-7 countries on August 24 to discuss close coordination on Afghanistan policy, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Sunday.
"President Joe Biden is scheduled to virtually meet other leaders of the G-7 countries on August 24. The leaders will discuss continuing our close coordination on Afghanistan policy and evacuating our citizens, the brave Afghans who stood with us over the last two decades, and other vulnerable Afghans," Psaki said in a statement.
Psaki said the leaders will also discuss plans to provide humanitarian assistance and support for Afghan refugees.
The meeting will build on President Biden's calls this week with G7 leaders Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France, and Prime Minister Mario Draghi of Italy, Psaki said. (PTI)
The son of Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was one of the main leaders of Afghanistan's anti-Soviet resistance in the 1980s, said he will not surrender areas under his control to the Taliban, Dubai-based al-Arabiya TV channel cited him as saying on Sunday.
Ahmad Massoud called for a comprehensive government to rule the country with the participation of the Taliban, adding that war will be "unavoidable" if the Taliban refuse dialogue, the TV channel said.
Massoud said government forces opposed to the Taliban have rallied from different provinces and gathered in his stronghold, the Panjshir valley.
In a Washington Post opinion piece published on Thursday, he appealed to the West for support. (Reuters)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he will convene a meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven nations on Tuesday for "urgent talks on the situation in Afghanistan."
In a statement posted on Twitter, Johnson said it is "vital that the international community works together to ensure safe evacuations, prevent a humanitarian crisis and support the Afghan people to secure the gains of the last 20 years."
The UK holds this year's presidency of the G-7 nations, which is also made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. (AP)
Tony Blair, the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the US decision to withdraw from the country has "every Jihadist group round the world cheering."
In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, the former Labour Party leader said the sudden and chaotic pullout that allowed the Taliban to reclaim power risked undermining everything that had been achieved in Afghanistan over the past two decades, including advances in living standards and the education of girls.
"The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours," said Blair who served as prime minister during 1997-2007, a period that also saw him back the US-led war in Iraq in 2003.
"The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics," he added.
Blair also accused US President Joe Biden of being "in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago." (AP)
India on Sunday brought back 392 people, including two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of the mission to evacuate its nationals and Afghan partners from Kabul in the backdrop of increasing hostilities by the Taliban and deteriorating security situation in the city after it fell to the militant outfit a week back.
A total of 168 people, including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF 130J transport aircraft, officials said.
Separately, 135 Indians, who were earlier evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft, were flown back from the Qatari capital city to Delhi on a special flight, they said.
The group of 168 people, who were evacuated from Kabul, included Afghan lawmakers Anarkali Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa and their families, people familiar with the evacuation mission said.
"India is our second home. Even if we are Afghans and live in that country, people often call us Hindustanis. I thank India for extending its helping hand," Khalsa told reporters at the Hindon airbase near Delhi. (PTI)
Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Sunday said the evacuation process of Indians from Kabul in Afghanistan, in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban, was happening in a flawless manner and the central government will bring back all Indian citizens, who want to come back.
The Union Minister of State for External Affairs while speaking to media here, said there are around 500 people stranded there as per the preliminary estimation and the government will ensure their safe travel to the airport there.
"The evacuation process is happening in a flawless manner. As per our estimation there will be around 500 people to return to India. The union government has taken steps to bring back all those Indians who want to come back. There are some issues related to the travel to the airport there. The government will take necessary steps to bring those stranded there safely to the airport," Muraleedharan said.
Meanwhile, India brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul on Sunday. (PTI)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said the evacuation and repatriation of Indian nationals including Keralites from Afghanistan by the Ministry of External Affairs was "commendable" and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Vijayan, in a tweet, thanked the Ministry and Modi and said the Keralites requiring assistance can contact Norka roots.
India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul.
"@MEAIndia & @PMOIndia's effort in the evacuation and repatriation of Indian nationals including Keralites is commendable. Thank you for ensuring the safety of all Indians. Keralites requiring assistance can contact Norka roots or MEA's 24x7 Special Afghanistan cell," Vijayan tweeted.
A total of 168 people, including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to the Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
India carried out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US, Qatar, Tajikistan and several other friendly countries. (PTI)
The Pentagon said Sunday that it is formally seeking airlift help from commercial airlines to relocate evacuees from Afghanistan once they have gotten out of their country.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has activated the initial stage of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program, asking for 18 aircraft: three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said the Department does not anticipate a major impact to commercial flights from this activation.
According to Kirby, those aircraft will not fly into Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
They will be used to move passengers from way stations once they leave Kabul, allowing the US military to focus on the Afghanistan portion of the evacuation. (AP)
Asserting that the "suffering" of Afghanistan is man-made, the war-torn nation's Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay on Sunday said his country is going through a difficult time, and only good leadership, compassionate attitude and international support to the Afghan people would bring an end to "miseries".
Mamundzay also appreciated the words of sympathy and support messages from all "Indian friends" and the diplomatic missions in New Delhi over the suffering of Afghans in the past few weeks.
His remarks come days after the Taliban swept across Afghanistan, seizing control of almost all key towns and cities, including capital Kabul, in the backdrop of the withdrawal of the US forces.
"I appreciate the kind words of sympathy and support messages from all Indian friends and the diplomatic missions in New Delhi over the suffering of Afghans in the past few weeks, particularly the last seven to eight days," Mamundzay said on Twitter.
"The avoidable suffering of Afghanistan is man-made and at a scale beyond all civilised contemplation," he said.
Afghanistan is going through a difficult time, and only good leadership, compassionate attitude and international support to the Afghan people "would somewhat bring an end to these miseries", the envoy said.
India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as his US-backed government fell with the Taliban gaining control.
In his first comments after he left Afghanistan, Ghani in a Facebook post on August 15 had said he was faced with a "hard choice" between the "armed Taliban" who wanted to enter the Presidential Palace or "leaving the dear country that I dedicated my life to protecting the past 20 years". (PTI)
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration on Sunday said that commercial aircraft would be used to help ferry people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan. A Pentagon spokesman said the 18 aircraft, including from United, American Airlines, and Delta, would not fly into Kabul but be used to transport people who have already left Afghanistan. This is the third time such a move has been made under the "Civil Reserve Air fleet." (Reuters)
Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Sunday said the evacuation process of Indians from Kabul in Afghanistan, in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban, was happening in a flawless manner and the central government will bring back all Indian citizens, who want to come back. The Union Minister of State for External Affairs while speaking to media here, said there are around 500 people stranded there as per the preliminary estimation and the government will ensure their safe travel to the airport there. "The evacuation process is happening in a flawless manner. As per our estimation there will be around 500 people to return to India. The union government has taken steps to bring back all those Indians who want to come back. There are some issues related to the travel to the airport there. The government will take necessary steps to bring those stranded there safely to the airport," Muraleedharan said. (PTI)
Tony Blair, the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the US decision to withdraw from the country has "every Jihadist group round the world cheering." In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, the former Labour Party leader said the sudden and chaotic pullout that allowed the Taliban to reclaim power risked undermining everything that had been achieved in Afghanistan over the past two decades, including advances in living standards and the education of girls. "The abandonment of Afghanistan and its people is tragic, dangerous, unnecessary, not in their interests and not in ours," said Blair who served as prime minister during 1997-2007, a period that also saw him back the US-led war in Iraq in 2003. "The world is now uncertain of where the West stands because it is so obvious that the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan in this way was driven not by grand strategy but by politics," he added. Blair also accused US President Joe Biden of being "in obedience to an imbecilic political slogan about ending the forever wars', as if our engagement in 2021 was remotely comparable to our commitment 20 or even 10 years ago." (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the conflict in Afghanistan directly affects the security situation in Russia, Russian news agencies reported. Putin criticised an idea of some Western countries to send refugees from Afghanistan to neighbouring Central Asian countries while their visas to the United States and Europe are being processed. He said Russia does not want Afghanistan militants arriving under cover of refugees, RIA news agency quoted him as saying. (Reuters)
U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, for assisting in the evacuation operations from Afghanistan, a United Arab Emirates media official, Afra Al-Hameli, said on Twitter on Sunday. Biden expressed "appreciation for the UAE support for ongoing evacuation from Afghanistan", she said. "This collaborative effort reflects the enduring and strong strategic partnership between the two close allies. "The UAE said on Friday it had agreed to host 5,000 Afghan nationals to be evacuated from their country for 10 days on their way to a third country at the request of the United States. (Reuters)
A sense of relief and gratitude was palpable among the evacuees from Afghanistan as they landed at Ghaziabad's Hindon airbase on Sunday morning, after days of uncertainty following Kabul's fall to the Taliban. A total of 168 people, including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to the Hindon airbase in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The group included Afghan lawmakers Anarkali Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa and their families, people familiar with the evacuation mission said. Terming India his "second home", Khalsa narrated his horror story which unfolded as their vehicle was separated from a convoy of those being taken to the Kabul airport for rescue. "They (Taliban) separated us from others while going to Kabul airport yesterday (Saturday) as were are Afghan nationals. We fled from there because small children were with us," he told reporters at Hindon. The lawmaker, a resident of Kabul, expressed hopes that he will manage to go back to his country after it rebuilds itself. "India is our second home. We have been living there since generations. We pray to God that Afghanistan is rebuilt, and we can go back there to tend to our gurdwaras and temples and serve the people," Khalsa added. (PTI)
The US military says an Afghan woman gave birth aboard an Air Force C-17 that flew from the Middle East to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The base is being used as a transit post for people being evacuated from Afghanistan. The military's Air Mobility Command tweeted that the mother began having complications during the flight Saturday. It says: "The aircraft commander decided to descend in altitude to increase air pressure in the aircraft, which helped stabilise and save the mother's life." On arrival at Ramstein, US medical personnel came aboard and delivered the child in the aircraft's cargo bay. "The baby girl and mother were transported to a nearby medical facility and are in good condition," the military said. (AP)
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 of the Islamist movement said on Sunday. "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. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian military plane evacuated 83 people from Kabul on Sunday, including journalists, activists, and Afghan women and children, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Thousands of people wanting to escape Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers have gathered at the airport as the United States and other nations attempt to evacuate thousands of their diplomats and civilians as well Afghans. The Taliban imposed some order outside the airport on Sunday, firing in the air and using batons to make sure people formed orderly queues at the main gates and did not gather at the perimeter, witnesses said."Today, a Ukrainian military plane took 83 more people out of Kabul. 31 Ukrainians + foreigners: journalists of @RFERL, @WSJ, @USATODAY, human rights activists, Afghan women & kids," Kuleba wrote in a tweet. "They're safe in Kyiv. We don't abandon our people and help others. Working on further evacuations."In a separate statement, the president's office said more than 100 Ukrainians remained in Afghanistan. (Reuters)
The Dutch government is donating 10 million euros to fund aid such as food, clean drinking water and medical supplies for Afghans. The foreign ministry said Sunday the money will go to the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund that can be tapped by United Nations organisations and NGOs working in Afghanistan. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Tom De Bruijn says "we want to support the Afghan population under these difficult circumstances. (AP)
As China, Pakistan mull a joint strategy to push for a global recognition of the Taliban regime in war-torn Afghanistan to further their interests, experts have warned the "all-weather allies" of long-term losses, especially a blowback effect from the US which may turn its ire on Beijing and Islamabad to avenge its Afghan imbroglio. Since the Taliban's takeover of Kabul on August 15, China and Pakistan have stepped up contacts amidst a sense of their delight over a "humiliating defeat" of the US after a 20-year war in Afghanistan despite lingering concerns over the return of the Taliban with all its baggage of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State terror groups. Contrary to its oft-stated diplomatic position that it has no favourites in Afghanistan, the Pakistani government is clearly comfortable with the return of the Taliban, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Posted quoted some Pakistani analysts as saying. Within hours of Kabul's fall, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said the Afghan people had "broken the shackles of slavery" to the West. Pakistan has lobbied the international community -- close allies China and Russia in particular -- to garner support for a collective diplomatic engagement with the Taliban as a means of ensuring that the group keeps its promises to form an inclusive administration, prevent terrorist attacks from Afghanistan and allow women access to education and employment, the Post report said. (PTI)
Schools, colleges can open across Afghanistan -Taliban official
Taliban seek complete clarity on foreign forces exit plan, managing chaos outside Kabul airport a complex task - Taliban official
Meetings of commanders and official aim to ensure safety and secure cooperation - Taliban official (Reuters)
Taliban commanders set to meet former governors, bureaucrats in more than 20 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces over next few days -Taliban official (Reuters)
Tony Blair, the British prime minister who deployed troops to Afghanistan 20 years ago after the 9/11 attacks, says the US decision to leave has "every Jihadist group round the world cheering". In a lengthy essay posted on his website late Saturday, Blair said the decision to withdraw troops was "tragic, dangerous, unnecessary". He added that Britain has a "moral obligation" to stay until "all those who need to be are evacuated". He said the exit was not in the West or Afghanistan's interest, with the Taliban reasserting itself across most of the country. He also warned that the decision by the US to keep Britain largely in the dark about the withdrawal risks relegating the country to "the second division of global powers". (AP)
The situation in Afghanistan is very dangerous for people, with firings and bombings all around. The Taliban cannot be trusted. They are beating up people. We were living in fear: Dipen Sherpa, one of the evacuees from Afghanistan, in Delhi (ANI)
Pakistan has temporarily suspended Kabul flight operations and is not evacuating anyone at the moment, according to media reports. The state-run Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was the sole commercial airline that had been operating flights to and from Kabul during the past few days to help in the evacuation of diplomats and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in the war-torn country last week. PIA on Saturday "temporarily suspended Kabul flight operations owing to lack of facilities and heaps of garbage at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport tarmac", Geo News reported on Saturday. Quoting sources privy to the development, it said there were no immigration officials and security checks at the Kabul airport. Sanitation workers were also not performing their duties since the Taliban took control of the country. The garbage at the airport's tarmac could cause a tragic accident, feared the sources. (PTI)
U.S. 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 U.S. government, the Spanish government said on Sunday. In a 25-minute telephone conversation on Saturday night, Biden and Sanchez agreed Moron de la Frontera near Seville and Rota near Cadiz can be used for refugees from Afghanistan until their travel to other countries is arranged."Pedro Sanchez and Joe Biden agreed the use of the bases of Moron and Rota to host Afghans who worked with the U.S. while in transit to other countries," the Spanish government said in a statement on Sunday. (Reuters)
The Afghan special cell established by MEA received more than 2000 calls for 5 days, it answered around 6000 queries over WhatsApp. More than 1200 mails were replied to for 5 days: Sources (ANI)
India on Sunday brought back nearly 400 people, including 329 of its nationals and two Afghan lawmakers, in three different flights as part of its efforts to evacuate its citizens from Kabul in the backdrop of the deteriorating situation in the city after its takeover by the Taliban. A total of 168 people including 107 Indians and 23 Afghan Sikhs and Hindus, were flown from Kabul to the Hindon airbase near Delhi in a C-17 heavy-lift military transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Another group of 87 Indians and two Nepalese nationals were brought back in a special Air India flight from Dushanbe, a day after they were evacuated to the Tajikistan capital in an IAF aircraft, officials said. Separately, a group of 135 Indians, who were evacuated from Kabul to Doha in the last few days by the US and NATO aircraft, were flown back from Doha to Delhi on a special flight, they said. India carried out the evacuation missions in coordination with the US, Qatar, Tajikistan and several other friendly countries. The group of 168 people, who were evacuated from Kabul, included Afghan lawmakers Anarkali Honaryar and Narender Singh Khalsa and their families, people familiar with the evacuation mission said. (PTI)
The British military says seven Afghan civilians have been killed in the crowds near Kabul's international airport amid the chaos of those fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country. The Defence Ministry said in a statement Sunday that "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 airport has been the focal point for thousands trying to flee the Taliban, who swept into Kabul a week ago after their lightning advance seized the country. (AP)
"We have decided to vaccinate Afghanistan returnees with free Polio Vaccine - OPV & fIPV, as a preventive measure against Wild Polio Virus. Take a look at the vaccine drive at Delhi International Airport," tweets Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. (ANI)
"Situation was deteriorating in Afghanistan, so I came here with my daughter & two grandchildren. Our Indian brothers & sisters came to our rescue. They (Taliban) burnt down my house. I thank India for helping us," says an Afghan national at Hindon Air Force Station, Ghaziabad. (ANI)
President Joe Biden's administration has told U.S. airlines they could be ordered to help ferry people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan, two officials told Reuters on Saturday. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a "warning order" was issued to carriers on Friday telling the companies they could be used, but no decision had been made. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The official said the civilian aircraft would not fly into Afghanistan, but would instead ferry evacuees from air bases in locations including the Middle East and Germany. (Reuters)
Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers imposed some order around chaotic Kabul airport on Sunday, making sure people formed orderly queues outside the main gates and not allowing crowds to gather at the perimeter, witnesses said. There was no violence or confusion at the airport as dawn broke on Sunday, said the witnesses. Although it was early, there were long lines forming, they said. (Reuters)