Afghanistan News highlights: Explosion targets Taliban vehicle in Jalalabad, as per witnesses

The interim mayor of Afghanistan's capital says many female city employees have been ordered to stay home by the country's new Taliban rulers. Stay tuned for more updates.

Qatar flight with Afghans, Americans, Europeans leaves Kabul, official says

A fourth chartered flight to carry civilians fromAfghanistanto Qatar since U.S. forces withdrew last month left Kabul on Sunday with more than 230 passengers, including Afghans, Americans and Europeans, a senior Qatari official said.

The Qatar Airways operated flight was also carrying citizens from Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Canada, France, Italy, Britain, Finland and the Netherlands, Qatari assistant foreign minister Lolwah Rashid Al Khater wrote on Twitter. (Reuters)

Afghan activists protest outside shuttered women affairs ministry

About two dozen women activists protested outsideAfghanistan's women's ministry on Sunday after it was closed by Taliban militants in power in Kabul and replaced by their Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

Female staff said they had been trying to return to work at the ministry for several weeks since the Taliban takeover last month, only to be told to go home.

The sign outside the Ministry of Women's Affairs has been replaced by one for the Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice.

"The Ministry of Women's Affairs must be reactivated," said Baseera Tawana, one of the protesters outside the building. "The removal of women means the removal of human beings."

When Taliban Islamists were in power from 1996-2001, girls were not allowed to attend school and women were banned from work and education. (Reuters)

Taliban fighters and residents gather at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan. Credit: AP Photo.

An Afghan girl cries during a peaceful protest ahead of the International Day of Peace at a park in New Delhi. Credit: Reuters Photo.

Witnesses say explosion targets Taliban, second in as many days

Witnesses say an explosion targeted a Taliban vehicle in the provincial city of Jalalabad, the second such deadly blast in as many days in an Islamic State stronghold.

The Taliban and IS extremists are enemies and fought each other even before the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan last month.

Witnesses say Sunday's blast targeted a vehicle of the border police, which is now run by the Taliban. Initial reports said five people were killed, including two civilians, among them a child. The Taliban were not immediately available for comment about possible casualties among their ranks. (AP)

People hold Afghanistan flags and placards during a peaceful protest ahead of the International Day of Peace at a park in New Delhi. Credit: Reuters Photo

In Pic | Afghan women march to demand their rights under the Taliban rule during a demonstration near the former Women's Affairs Ministry building in Kabul, Afghanistan. Credit: AP Photo.

Mansour Ahmad Khan, Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, says the first shipment of Pakistani humanitarian aid arrived in Afghanistan by land. The aid is said to have flour, oil, rice and sugar. (Khaama Press)

Two Afghans who trekked to France have lessons for evacuees

One slept on the streets of Paris, the other in a massive makeshift migrant camp in northern France.

Nassrullah Youssoufi and Abdul Wali were among more than 1 million refugees and migrants who reached Europe in 2015.

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PM Modi, Jaisahankar will take a call on further infrastructure investments in Afghanistan: Gadkari

With Afghanistan coming under the control of the Taliban, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said a final decision on continuing infrastructure investments in the war-torn country will be taken by the prime minister along with the external affairs minister after considering the prevailing situation.

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After the beginning of the school year, today is the second day that millions of girls have not attended their schools since sixth grade. Figures from UNICEF and other agencies show that about four million girls attended school before the Taliban took control.

UN urges continued assistance to war displaced persons in Afghanistan

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzada said that what is happening in Afghanistan does not have a miracle solution and that neighboring countries should help. However, he stressed that no country should tolerate its will and will to the People of Afghanistan.

Taliban to female Kabul city workers: Stay home

The interim mayor ofAfghanistan's capital says many female city employees have been ordered to stay home by the country's new Taliban rulers.

Hamdullah Namony told reporters Sunday that only women who could not be replaced by men have been permitted to report to work. He says this includes skilled workers in the design and engineering departments as well as female attendants of public toilets for women.

(AP)

Taliban seize human rights commission offices

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRI) has called on the Taliban to provide independent and impartial monitoring of the human rights situation, particularly the human rights of women and children throughout the country

Representatives of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran have agreed to increase their coordination on Afghanistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he has begun talks with the Taliban on forming an inclusive government in Afghanistan

Amnesty International asks for more investigation and accountability in US drone strike in Kabul

Amnesty International says it is a first step to accepting the mistake in the UNmanned USdrone strike in Kabul, but more investigations and accountability must now be conducted.

Mourners in California honour 3 Marines killed in Afghanistan

Mourners in California said prayers and their final goodbyes Saturday to three Marines killed in last month's bombing inAfghanistan.

Family and friends of Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui packed a church in Riverside to celebrate the life of the 20-year-old Marine from Norco.

He was one of 13 UStroops killed in a horrific suicide bombing atAfghanistan's Kabul airport, which also claimed the lives of more than 160 Afghans, on August 26.

Khalilzad confirms Qatar plane carrying Americans leaves Afghanistan

Two killed, 19 wounded in four explosions in Nangarhar

Sources at the Nangarhar Regional Hospital said that two dead and 19 wounded were transferred to the hospital.

Fearful US residents in Afghanistan hiding out from Taliban

Every night in yet another house inAfghanistan's capital, a US green card-holding couple from California take turns sleeping, with one always awake to watch over their three young children so they can flee if they hear the footsteps of the Taliban.

They've moved seven times in two weeks, relying on relatives to take them in and feed them. Their days are an uncomfortable mix of fear and boredom, restricted to a couple of rooms where they read, watch TV and play “The Telephone Game” in which they whisper secrets and pass them on, a diversion for the children that has the added benefit of keeping them quiet.

(AP)

Imran Khan says he ‘initiated a dialogue’ with Taliban for inclusive Afghan government

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that he has “initiated a dialogue” with the Taliban for an inclusive government in Kabul that will include Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks, a day after the SCO member states said that it is critical to have an inclusive government in the war-torn country with representatives from all ethnic, religious and political groups.

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Fanatics threaten Kashmiri women after Taliban takeover

Taliban taking over Afghanistan has led to tens of thousands of women fleeing the country to escape the atrocities of the new regime.

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Biden faced unfair criticism over US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan: Pakistan PM Khan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said he believed US President Joe Biden was targeted with "unfair criticism" over troops withdrawal from Afghanistan and termed his decision as “the most sensible thing to do”, according to a media report.

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