Afghanistan News highlights: All military and civilian flights halted at Kabul airport, says Pentagon

Afghanistan woke up to the Taliban's complete takeover of Afghanistan as the US and other world leaders asked the insurgent group leaders to allow people and foreigners to leave the country. Thousands of Afghans flooded the Kabul airport, rushing the runway, in hope of an exit from the country.

Security increased outside Afghan embassy in Delhi

The Delhi Police on Monday beefed up security outside the Afghan embassy in central Delhi's Chanakyapuri, a day after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Several Afghan nationals visited the embassy. Some mediapersons too gathered outside it. "To manage them and keep the situation normal, security was increased outside the embassy. However, we have no threat inputs as of now,” a senior police officer said. (PTI)

UK's Johnson plans virtual G7 leaders meeting on Afghanistan

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to host a virtual meeting of G7 leaders to discuss the situation in Afghanistan in the coming days, he told French President Emmanuel Macron during a telephone call on Monday.

Johnson's office said the two leaders also agreed that Britain and France should work together at the United Nations Security Council, including on a possible joint-resolution. (Reuters)

Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan 'setback' for India: Diplomats

Former Indian diplomats on Monday termed the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan as a "setback" for India strategically, and asserted that the priority for New Delhi right now should be to evacuate its citizens from the war-torn nation.

Taliban insurgents swept Kabul after the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday, bringing an unprecedented end to efforts made by the US and its allies to transform the war-ravaged nation in the last two decades. (PTI)

International community 'misjudged' Afghanistan situation: German minister

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Monday admitted NATO allies had underestimated the speed of the Taliban's advance across Afghanistan and failed to anticipate that Afghan forces were not ready to take up the fight.

"There is no talking this up. All of us -- the federal government, intelligence services, the international community -- misjudged the situation," Maas told a press conference in Berlin. (AFP)

All military and civilian flights have been halted at the Kabul airport because of the crowds of civilians who have surged out onto the runways, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday.

"US military forces are on the scene working alongside Turkish and other international troops to clear the area of people. We do not know how long this will take," Kirby said.

Pak high-level security meet endorses Biden’s troop withdrawal from Afghanistan

Pakistan’s high-level security huddle chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday endorsed US President Joe Biden’s decision to pull American troops out of Afghanistan, saying the presence of foreign troops for a longer period would not have produced a different result in the war-ravaged neighbouring country. (PTI)

UK soldiers' families shocked by Taliban blitz

Families of British soldiers who died in Afghanistan have expressed dismay at the sudden fall of the country to the Taliban.

Graham Knight, the father of 25-year-old Ben Knight who was killed when his Nimrod aircraft exploded in Afghanistan in 2006, said the British government should have moved more quickly to get civilians out. (AP)

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UNSC that US promises to be generous in resettling displaced Afghan people, urging other nations to do the same.

“The United States promises to be generous in resettling Afghans in our home country and I’m heartened by the pledges we’re seeing from other nations to do the same. We need to all do more and the time to step up is now,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

"Taliban is not honouring their promises and commitments made in their statements at Doha andat other international forums. Residents are living in absolute fear,"Ghulam M Isaczai, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Afghanistan said to the UN.

"I urge the UNSC and international community to stand together, act together and work together use all tools at their disposal to suppress the global terrorist threat in Afghanistan andto guarantee that basic human rights will be respected," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the UNSC

Afghanistan has called on the UNSC to "urgently establish a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of those at risk of the Taliban's retributions and attacks".

"We are receiving chilling reports of restrictions on human rights throughout the country. I'm particularly concerned by accounts of mounting human rights violations against women andgirls of Afghanistan who fear a return of the darkest days,"UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the UNSC.

Afghan representative at the emergency UNSC meeting said, "Today, I'm speaking on behalf of millions of people in Afghanistan. I'm speaking of millions of Afghan girls and women who are about to lose their freedom to go to school andto participate in political-economic andsocial life."

US tells Taliban not to hinder Kabul evacuation

A US defence official says the head of Central Command has met face-to-face with senior Taliban leaders to urge their fighters not to interfere with the US military's evacuation operations at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan.

The official said that in the meeting on Sunday in Doha, Qatar, Gen. Frank McKenzie won Taliban agreement to establish a “deconfliction mechanism” - an arrangement by which evacuation operations at the airport can continue without interference by the new rulers of the country. (AP)

Taliban will not get access to Afghan reserves held in US: official

The Taliban will be denied access to any Afghan reserves held in US accounts, a US administration official told AFP on Monday.

As US forces were evacuating Afghanistan's capital after the Taliban's swift takeover, the official said, "Any Central Bank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban." (AFP)

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday seemed to endorse the Taliban taking over Kabul by saying that Afghanistan has broken the "shackles of slavery" in the neighbouring war-torn country.

The longstanding war in Afghanistan reached a watershed moment on Sunday when the Taliban insurgents closed in on Kabul before entering the city and took over the presidential palace, forcing embattled President Ashraf Ghani to join fellow citizens and foreigners to flee the country. (PTI)

Italian diplomats, Afghans arrive in Rome from Kabul

About 70 Italian diplomats and Afghans reached Rome on Monday after being evacuated from Kabul following the fall of the capital city to the Taliban.

The KC-767 military transport plane touched down about 1230 GMT at Rome's Fiumicino international airport carrying some 50 diplomats and 20 Afghans who had worked with Italian forces in Afghanistan, the foreign ministry said in a statement. (AFP)

India says doors open to Afghan's Sikh and Hindu minorities

India will help members of Afghanistan's tiny Sikh and Hindu community to come to India, the foreign ministry said on Monday. "We are in constant touch with the representatives of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities. We will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan," foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement. (Reuters)

In its first statement after Taliban's entry into Kabul and fall of Ashraf Ghani's government, India says it will take all steps to ensure safety and security of its citizens and interests in Afghanistan.

Without directly referring to collapse of the Afghan Government after Taliban's entry into Kabul, New Delhi says it is aware that some Indians are still in Afghanistan and they wish to return.

The United States will focus on securing the Kabul airport and additional USforces will flow into the airport on Monday and Tuesday, USDeputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer said, as people tried to flee a day after Taliban insurgents seized the Afghan capital.

The United States has temporarily halted all evacuation flights from Kabul to clear people who had converged on the airfield, a USdefense official told Reuters, but did not say how long the pause would last.

Nepal expedites evacuation of citizens stuck in Afghanistan

The Nepal government on Monday announced that it was taking immediate steps to evacuate its citizens stranded in Afghanistan after the Kabul government fell to the Taliban insurgents.

The longstanding war in Afghanistan reached a watershed moment on Sunday when the Taliban militants closed in on Kabul before entering the city and took over the presidential palace, forcing embattled President Ashraf Ghani to join fellow citizens and foreigners to flee the country. (PTI)

Doubts over Afghan-Pakistan cricket series after Taliban takeover

As officials scramble to find out whether Afghanistan's cricketers are safe, Sri Lanka's national board said Monday it is going ahead with arrangements to host a T20 series between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

No official was able to guarantee however that the three Twenty20 matches would start on September 1 after the Taliban swept to power.

The team are also scheduled to play in the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October which could also now be in doubt. (AFP)

Russia will evacuate some of its embassy staff in Kabul “in order not to create too big a presence,” the Kremlin envoy on Afghanistan said Monday.

Zamir Kabulov told the Ekho Moskvy radio station that some of roughly 100 Russian embassy staff “will be placed on leave or evacuated in some other fashion just in order not to create too big a presence.”

Kabulov said that the Russian ambassador to Afghanistan Dmitry Zhirnov will meet a Taliban representative on Tuesday to discuss security for the diplomatic mission, adding that the outside perimeter of the embassy is already being guarded by the Taliban. (AP)

US temporarily pauses Kabul evacuations flights to clear airfield

The United States has temporarily halted all evacuation flights from Kabul to clear people who had converged on the airfield, a USdefense official told Reuters on Monday.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not say how long the pause would last. (Reuters)

An Afghan military jet has crashed after crossing the border into Uzbekistan and its pilot ejected and survived, the Uzbek defence ministry was quoted as saying on Monday.

Afghan turmoil leaves Paralympic athletes unable to compete

Afghanistan's Paralympic team will not participate in the Games in Tokyo next week because they are trapped in the country, the International Paralympic Committee said Monday.

The Taliban have in recent days capped a military victory that saw them bring a swift end to the 20-year war in the country.

Just two Para athletes from Afghanistan were scheduled to compete in the Games -- taekwondo athletes Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli. (AFP)

Afghanistan's aviation authority said on Monday that national airspace had been released to the military following the Taliban's takeover and advised transit planes to keep away, hastening major airlines' switch to other routes.

For now, as the militants embed themselves elsewhere, USforces have taken over air traffic control at Kabul airport, where 8died on Monday in chaotic scenes. (Reuters)

Zamir Kabulov, Russia's special envoy on Afghanistan, spoke by phone with his counterpart in the United States about the situation in Afghanistan on Monday, the TASS news agency cited him as saying.

Russia's foreign ministry also named Russia, the United States, China, Pakistan and Iran as countries that could have an impact on the situation in Afghanistan, where the government collapsed on Sunday, the RIA news agency reported. (Reuters)

Russia says Afghan president fled with cars and helicopter full of cash - RIA

Russia's embassy in Kabul said on Monday that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash and had to leave some money behind as it would not all fit in, the RIA news agency reported.

Ghani, whose current whereabouts are unknown, said he left Afghanistan on Sunday as the Taliban entered Kabul virtually unopposed. He said he wanted to avoid bloodshed. (Reuters)

Russia has said it will not rush to recognize the Taliban in Afghanistan. President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for Afghanistan on Monday explainedthat the decision will depend on the Taliban's behaviour. (CNN)

Iran's Raisi says US 'defeat' in Afghanistan a chance for lasting peace

Iran's new ultraconservative President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday said that the "defeat" of the United States in Afghanistan must usher in a durable peace in the neighbouring war-wracked country. (AFP)

Some flights are taking off from Kabul airport: CNN

Amid chaos, some evacuation flights are still taking off from the Kabul airport, CNN reported.

A Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300 left Kabul airport at 1:14 PM local time (4:44 a.m. ET). It was organised by the Turkish government and there were 324 passengers on board.

US military aircraft, including several C-17 transport planes, have also been taking off from the airport.

'Deeply worried' for women, minorities as Taliban control Afghanistan: Malala

Shocked at the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, Pakistani activist and the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has said she is "deeply worried" for women, minorities and human rights advocates living in the strife-torn country.

The 24-year-old rights activist, who was shot in the head by Taliban militants in 2012 in Pakistan's Swat region for her campaign for the education of girls, urged global and regional powers to call for an immediate ceasefire and provide help to civilians in Afghanistan. (PTI)

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is reportedly in Oman after Tajikistan denied his plane landing yesterday. He is likely to head to the US.

Merkel says Germany must focus on its Afghan 'rescue mission'

Germany's focus must be on its evacuation operation in Afghanistan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told leaders of her Christian Democrat party on Monday, meeting participants said.

"We are witnessing difficult times," she said. (Reuters)

Taliban in Afghan capital Kabul start collecting weapons from civilians

Taliban fighters in the Afghan capital, Kabul, started collecting weapons from civilians on Monday because people no longer need them for personal protection, a Taliban official said.

"We understand people kept weapons for personal safety. They can now feel safe. We are not here to harm innocent civilians," the official told Reuters.

Pak PM Khan to chair meeting on the situation in Afghanistan

A meeting of Pakistan's security committee chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan will be held on Monday to discuss the evolving situation in neighbouring Afghanistan, a day after the Taliban seizing power in Kabul and President Ashraf Ghani fled the war-torn country.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in a statement that Pakistan will present its stance on the current situation following consultations in the National Security Committee meeting. (PTI)

Australia sends jets to fly personnel from Kabul

Australia is sending three transport and air-to-air refuelling jets with 250 military personnel to repatriate more than 130 Australians and their families from Afghanistan, officials said on Monday.

Australia is also working to evacuate an undisclosed number of refugees, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement.

The support comes as the US and other nations scramble to evacuate diplomats and Afghan employees and their families from Kabul. (AP)

China says ready for 'friendly relations' with Taliban

China on Monday said it is willing to develop "friendly relations" with the Taliban after the Islamist hardliners seized control of Afghanistan.

"China respects the right of the Afghan people to independently determine their own destiny and is willing to continue to develop... friendly and cooperative relations with Afghanistan," foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters. (AFP)

Pakistan's state airline halts flights to Kabul

Pakistan's state-run airline says it has halted all flights to Afghanistan's capital of Kabul because of the “uncertain security situation” there.

Spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said Monday that Pakistan International Airlines decided to protect passengers, the crew and the planes after consulting the Afghan civil aviation authorities.

He spoke as embassies scrambled to evacuate personnel and Afghan employees through the airport. On Sunday, Taliban militants ended two decades of Western-backed government after a blitz through Afghanistan.

Russian ambassador to meet Taliban in Kabul Tuesday: Diplomat

Russia will decide on recognising Taliban govt based on 'conduct', said diplomat.

AFP

At least five killed at Kabul airport: Witnesses

At least five people were killed in Kabul airport as hundreds of people tried to forcibly enter planes leaving the Afghan capital, witnesses told Reuters.

One witness said he had seen the bodies of five people being taken to a vehicle. Another witness said it was not clear whether the victims were killed by gunshots or in a stampede.

U.S. troops, who are in charge of the airport, earlier fired in the air to scatter the crowd, a U.S. official said.

Officials were not immediately available to comment on the deaths.

Three killed in chaos at Kabul airport as Afghans seek a desperate exit, according to a US newspaper

Air India's AI 126 Chicago-Delhi flight diverted to Gulf airspace due to Afghan airspace closure

ANI

Air India services won't operate since the Afghanistan air space was closed

(ANI)

Afghans (L) crowd at the airport as US soldiers stand guard in Kabul.

AFP Photo

US troops fire shots in air at Kabul airport as crowd mobs tarmac

US troops fired shots into the air at Kabul airport on Monday as thousands of Afghans crowded onto the tarmac in the hope of catching a flight out of the country after the Taliban takeover of the country.

"The crowd was out of control," the official told Reuters by phone. "The firing was only done to defuse the chaos."

"I feel very scared here. They are firing lots of shots into the air," a witness told AFP.

Chaos at Kabul airport after thousands of Afghans try to flee Afghanistan, a day after the Taliban took over the country, videos shared on social media show.

The beating blades of US military helicopters whisking American diplomats to Kabul's airport on Sunday punctuated a frantic rush by thousands of other foreigners and Afghans to flee to safety as well, as a stunningly swiftTalibantakeover entered the heart of Afghanistan's capital.

(AP)

The Indian government has told Air India to keep two aircraft on standby for emergency evacuations from Kabul, a day after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, ANI reported quoting sources in the government.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urges Taliban leaders to allow people to leave safely, says the world is watching

Airlines reroute flights to avoid Afghanistan airspace

\Major airlines are rerouting flights to avoid Afghanistan airspace after insurgents took control of the presidential palace in Kabul as US-led forces departed and Western nations scrambled on Monday to evacuate their citizens.

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Videos emerging on social media show large crowds gathered at Kabul airport to exit Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the country's capital on Sunday.

Security situation in Kabul unsafe, says US Embassy

Taliban leader says the fighters are ordered to allow Afghans to resume daily activities, they should do nothing to scare civilians

(Reuters)

US, allies urge Taliban to let Afghans leave

The United States on Sunday led more than 65 nations in urging the resurgent Taliban to let Afghans leave the country, warning of accountability for any abuses.

"The United States joins the international community in affirming that Afghans and international citizens who wish to depart must be allowed to do so," Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter as the State Department released a statement signed by its close allies.

"Those in positions of power and authority across Afghanistan bear responsibility -- and accountability -- for the protection of human life," the joint statement said.

Taliban seek 'open, inclusive' Islamic government, says spokesman

A Taliban spokesman and negotiator said told The Associated Press on Sunday that the militant group is holding talks aimed at forming an “open, inclusive Islamic government” in Afghanistan.

Suhail Shaheen spoke to the AP after the Taliban overran most of the country in a matter of days and pushed into the capital, Kabul, as the United States scrambled to withdraw diplomats and other civilians.

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US troops have secured Kabul airport, says State Department

The US military has secured the perimeter of Kabul airport, the State Department said Sunday, adding that Washington's embassy in the Afghan capital been completely evacuated.

"All embassy personnel are located on the premises of Hamid Karzai International Airport, whose perimeter is secured by the US Military," spokesman Ned Price said in a statement, hours after the Taliban took control of the city.

India observing Afghan situation, yet to close Kabul embassy

Even as the Taliban militants entered Kabul and the government led by President Ashraf Ghani collapsed, India has not yet shut down its embassy in the capital of Afghanistan.

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Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Trump

The collapse of Kabul without any resistance to the Taliban will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history, former US President Donald Trump has said.

“What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan is legendary. It will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history,” Trump said in a short statement hours after the Taliban occupied the presidential palace in Kabul and its elected leader Ashraf Ghani fled the country along with his senior officials reportedly to Tajikistan. (PTI)

Taliban want relations with international community, says spokesman

A spokesman for the Taliban's political office told Al-Jazeera on Sunday that the group does not want to live in isolation and wants relations with the international community.

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India's envoy to UN to chair Security Council special session on situation in Afghanistan

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will on Monday hold a special session to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, where President Ashraf Ghani’s government collapsed after the militants of the resurgent Taliban entered Kabul after occupying vast swathes of the war-torn country's territory.

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Taliban has won, says Afghan President Ghani as militants enter Kabul

Afghan President AshrafGhanisaid Sunday after fleeing the country that the Taliban had won, as the militants entered Kabul -- nearly 20 years after they were ousted from power by a US-led invasion.

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