Afghanistan News Highlights: Turkey says 'evaluating' Taliban's Kabul airport offer

On the second full day with no US troops on Afghan soil, the Taliban moved Wednesday to form a new Islamic government, preparing to appoint the movement’s leading religious figure, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada, as the nation’s supreme authority, Taliban officials said. There is no rush to recognise the Taliban either by the United States or many of the countries that it has spoken to, the White House said.

Concerns relating to terrorism primary focus: India on Afghanistan

India's immediate focus is to ensure that Afghan soil is not used for terrorist activities directed against it, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, two days after the Indian envoy to Qatar held talks with a top Taliban leader in Doha.

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Western Union resuming services to Afghanistan - senior exec

Western Union Co is resuming money-transfer services to Afghanistan, a senior executive told Reuters on Thursday, a decision he said was in line with a US push to allow humanitarian activity to continue after the Taliban's takeover.

'Saudi Crown Prince had role in Kabul airport attack'

A Saudi opponent has spoken of the alleged role of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in supporting the ISIL elements during the August 26 Kabul airport attack, Iran'sMehr Newsreported.

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Turkey says 'evaluating' Taliban's Kabul airport offer

Turkey said on Thursday it was "evaluating" proposals from the Taliban and others for the safe operation of Kabul's airport after the Islamist group's return to power in Afghanistan.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's comments came hours after Qatar said it was working with the Taliban to reopen Kabul's airport "as soon as possible".

Turkey has also been involved in the negotiations but has expressed concern over who will organise security for its personnel in the Afghan capital after the US troop withdrawal. - AFP.

EU mulls reaction force after Afghanistan evacuation

EU defence ministers on Thursday discussed proposals for a European rapid reaction force after the bloc was left on the sidelines during the US-led evacuation from Afghanistan.

Calls have grown for the 27-nation group to develop its own joint military capability to respond quickly to crises in the wake of the chaotic scenes at Kabul airport after the Taliban seized power. - AFP

Taliban and Afghan rebels claim heavy casualties in fighting over valley

Taliban forces and fighters loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud, fought in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley on Thursday, with each side saying it had inflicted heavy casualties in recent days of combat in the last province resisting Taliban rule. - Reuters.

We will be able to revisit this issue once operations at Kabul airport resume: MEA on bringing back remaining Indians from Afghanistan

Pak shuts key border crossing with Afghanistan

Pakistan on Thursday temporarily closed a key border crossing with Afghanistan, apparently due to fear of the influx of refugees eager to leave their homeland after the Taliban seized power last month.

Chaman border crossing - the second-largest commercial border point with Afghanistan after the Torkham commercial town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - has been closed due to security threats, Geo News reported, citing sources. - PTI.

Those left in Afghanistan complain of broken US promises

Even in the final days of Washington's chaotic airlift in Afghanistan, Javed Habibi was getting phone calls from the US government promising that the green card holder from Richmond, Virginia, his wife and their four daughters would not be left behind.

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Afghan evacuee child dies from eating mushrooms in Poland

A five-year-old Afghan boy evacuated from Kabul after the Taliban takeover has died in Poland after eating poisonous mushrooms and his six-year-old brother is close to death, doctors said on Thursday.

The two boys arrived in Poland with their family on August 23 and were in quarantine at a migrant facility in the town of Podkowa Lesna near Warsaw. - AFP.

Qatar working with Taliban to reopen Kabul airport 'as soon as possible': FM

Qatar is working with the Taliban to reopen Kabul's airport as soon as possible, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Thursday.

"We are working very hard (and) we remain hopeful that we will be able to operate it as soon as possible... hopefully in the next few days we will hear some good news," he said. - AFP.

China trying to take over Bagram air force base, use Pakistan against India: Nikki Haley

The US needs to closely watch China as it might try to take over the Bagram air force base in Afghanistan following the Taliban's takeover of the war-torn country and use Pakistan to get stronger to go against India, a former senior American diplomat has warned.

America’s former envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley said President Joe Biden has lost the trust and confidence of American allies after his hasty decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. She said there are many challenges in front of the US.

The US needs to make sure that Americans are protected and the country's cybersecurity is strong "because actors like Russia are going to continue to hack us because we show no signs of willingness to fight back, she said. (PTI)

In South Korea, Afghan evacuees find hope in their new 'special merit' status

390 evacuees arrived in Seoul last week where the government said it was amending immigration laws to grant long-term residency to those who provided special service to South Korea.

Most of them are the families of people who had worked with the South Korean embassy, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and a hospital, among others. (Reuters)

EU must create deployable rapid reaction force, Borrell says

The chaotic Western withdrawal from Afghanistan is likely to be a catalyst for the European Union's attempts to develop its common defence, the EU's top diplomat said on Thursday, saying a rapid reaction force must be part of that.

Calls within the EU are growing for the bloc to be able to intervene militarily in a crisis without relying on UStroops.

EU defence and foreign ministers are set to discuss the way forward on Thursday and Friday at an informal meeting of EU defence ministers in Slovenia. (Reuters)

Sayed Akbar Agha, head of the Rah-e-Nejat Council of Afghanistan, in a Taliban press conference held in Kabul on Thursday called on the people to accept the new Islamic system which will be formed soon. (Tolo News)

Afghan Paralympian makes debut after top-secret evacuation

Afghan taekwondo athlete Zakai Khudadadi competed in the Paralympic Games on Thursday, becoming the first female Afghan to do so since Athens 2004, after a secret international effort to help her get out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

The 22-year-old and her compatriot Hossain Rasouli arrived in Tokyo on Saturday via Paris after Khudadadi made a video appeal for help to leave Kabul after the Taliban swept to power.

On Thursday, Khudadadi entered the Makuhari Messe competition arena in Chiba, near Tokyo, wearing a white hijab for the opening match of the debut of the Korean combat sport at the Paralympic Games. She became only the second woman to compete for Afghanistan at the Paralympics, which began in 1960.

‘Finally, I am safe’: US air base becomes temporary refuge for Afghans

The United Nations' food stockpiles in Afghanistan could run out this month and there is a critical need for USD 200 million to provide food to the most vulnerable, a senior UN official has warned.

Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said that at least one-third of the conflict-torn country's population currently is “not sure that they will have a meal every day or not. This is what is going on.”

“By the end of September, the stocks which the World Food Programme has in the country will be out. We will be out of stock. We will not be able to provide those essential food items because we'll be out of stock," Alakbarov told reporters during a virtual press briefing from Kabul on Wednesday. (PTI)

Will run out of food stocks in Afghanistan by end of this month: senior UN official warns

The United Nations' food stockpiles in Afghanistan could run out this month and there is a critical need for USD 200 million to provide food to the most vulnerable, a senior UN official has warned.

Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov said that at least one-third of the conflict-torn country's population currently is “not sure that they will have a meal every day or not. This is what is going on.”

“By the end of September, the stocks which the World Food Programme has in the country will be out. We will be out of stock. We will not be able to provide those essential food items because we'll be out of stock," Alakbarov told reporters during a virtual press briefing from Kabul on Wednesday. (PTI)

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will on Thursday visit Doha to discuss the situation in Afghanistan with Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Raab's office said.

"The prospects of getting Kabul airport up and running and safe passage for foreign nationals and Afghans across land borders (are) top of the agenda," the Foreign Office said in a statement. (AFP)

Chaotic US exit likely to crush Afghan economy: Fitch

Fitch Solutions has forecast a collapse in the Afghan economy and cut its real gross domestic product estimate for growth of 0.4 per cent this financial year to project contraction of 9.7 per cent, with a further drop of 5.2 per cent in the following financial year.

"The highly disruptive manner in which the US's security forces left the country and the Taliban takeover will mean that the economic pains for the country will be felt acutely over the short term," said analysts in a report from Fitch Solutions, the research arm of Fitch Group. (Reuters)

Clarify if Taliban is a terror organisation or not: Omar Abdullah asks Centre

Taliban show off US plunder as first flight lands in Kabul since pullout

The Taliban on Wednesday paraded some of the military hardware they captured during their takeover of Afghanistan, as a team from Qatar landed at the trashed airport in Kabul -- a first step towards getting the facility back up and running as a lifeline for aid.

The Qatar Airways flight, the first to land in Kabul since the US withdrew from Afghanistan Monday, brought a team of technical experts to work on the airport, a source close to the matter told AFP.

The goal was to resume flights for aid, after the United Nations warned of a looming "humanitarian catastrophe" in war-ravaged Afghanistan, and to provide a way out for those wanting to flee the new regime. (AFP)

"Dominating structure in last years didn't mean stability andyour modern dominance over the soil doesn't mean your stability. Stability and sustainability is a consistent system with components that your group is far from," Saleh added.

Acting President of Afghanistan Amrullah Saleh said their resistance is to defend all Afghan citizens' rights. "This resistance is based in Panjshir.Today, this valley hosts the whole country andis the hope for Afghan people who are escaping from oppression andmore," he said. (ANI)

Taliban a ruthless group, don't know about its future: Senior US general

The Taliban is a ruthless group from the past, a top American general said, noting that it remains to be seen if the organisation has changed or not.

“We don't know what the future of the Taliban is, but I can tell you from personal experience that this is a ruthless group from the past, and whether or not they change remains to be seen,” Joint US Chiefs Of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley told reporters at a Pentagon news conference. (PTI)

No rush for US to recognise Taliban: White House

There is no rush to recognise the Taliban either by the United States or many of the countries that it has spoken to, the White House said asserting that such a move would be dependent on what they deliver on the expectations of the global community.

“There's no rush to recognition from the United States or any country we have spoken with around the world. It will be very dependent on their behaviour and whether they deliver on what the expectations are of the global community,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.

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Afghans face hunger crisis, adding to Taliban's challenges

The United Nations' stockpiles of food in Afghanistan could run out this month, a senior official warned on Wednesday, threatening to add a hunger crisis to the challenges facing the country's new Taliban rulers as they try to restore stability after decades of war.

About one third of the country's population of 38 million doesn't know if they will have a meal every day, according to Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN's humanitarian chief in Afghanistan.

The UN's World Food Program has brought in food and distributed it to tens of thousands of people in recent weeks, but with winter approaching and a drought ongoing, at least USD 200 million is needed urgently to be able to continue to feed the most vulnerable Afghans, he said. (AP)

Effort underway to rescue girls soccer team from Afghanistan

An international effort to evacuate members of the Afghanistan national girls soccer team, along with dozens of family members and soccer federation staff, suffered a crushing setback last week after a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport killed 169 Afghans and 13 US service members during a harrowing airlift.

Now, frightened and desperate, the girls worry whether a far-flung coalition of former US military and intelligence officials, congressmen, US allies, humanitarian groups and the captain of the Afghanistan women's national team can get them and their loved ones to safety. (AP)

Taliban soldiers are seen at one of the main city squares of Kabul, Afghanistan, September 1, 2021. Credit: WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

No rush for US to recognise Taliban: White House

There is no rush to recognise the Taliban either by the United States or many of the countries that it has spoken to, the White House said asserting that such a move would be dependent on what they deliver on the expectations of the global community.

“There's no rush to recognition from the United States or any country we have spoken with around the world. It will be very dependent on their behaviour and whether they deliver on what the expectations are of the global community,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.

(PTI)

Taliban a ruthless group, don't know about its future: Senior US general

The Taliban is a ruthless group from the past, a top American general said, noting that it remains to be seen if the organisation has changed or not.

“We don't know what the future of the Taliban is, but I can tell you from personal experience that this is a ruthless group from the past, and whether or not they change remains to be seen,” Joint US Chiefs Of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley told reporters at a Pentagon news conference.

(PTI)

Will the world formally recognise Taliban?

The Americans have left 20 years after invading, the Afghan government has dissolved and the Taliban are newly in charge of some 40 million people in one of the poorest countries, ravaged by decades of violence and upheaval. Foreign powers must now decide how to deal with an organisation that remains on terrorist watch lists around the world.

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Taliban to unveil new government in days after US troops leave Afghanistan

The Taliban and other Afghan leaders have reached a “consensus” on the formation of a new government and cabinet under the leadership of the group’s top spiritual leader, an official said.

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