Afghanistan News Highlights: Amrullah Saleh has fled Panjshir, according to reports

Anti-Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley said on Friday they were battling to repulse "heavy" assaults, as the Islamists seek to capture the last holdout province defying their rule. Taliban co-founder Mullah Baradar will lead a new Afghan government that could be announced soon, sources in the Islamist group said on Friday.

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Amrullah Saleh has fled Panjshir, according to reports.

Saleh accused the Taliban of cutting off humanitarian services and said that they had cut off the flow of doctors, medicine and food to the Panjshir. He said that the Taliban had also cut off power and internet lines in Panjshir. According to him, the Taliban treat passengers with "ethnic and regional divisions". (Khaama Press)

As long as I live, Taliban will not be able to silence my voice, says Amrullah Saleh

Saleh, a leader of the Popular Resistance Front against the Taliban, reiterates that Panjshir stands for Afghanistan.

In a note on Facebook, he called on people to stand up and sing along with Panjshir. (Khaama Press)

Taliban battle for final holdout province of Panjshir

Anti-Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley said Friday they were battling to repulse "heavy" assaults, as the Islamists seek to capture the last holdout province defying their rule.

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Key figures in Afghan Taliban's new government

Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar will lead the new government in Afghanistan, sources within the movement have said, as the Islamist militant group works to finalise its leadership team after sweeping to victory in a 20-year war.

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Former president Hamid Karzai in a statement asked the Taliban and the "resistance front" in Panjshir to stop the fighting and resolve their issues through talks: Afghanistan's TOLOnews.

With the return of Taliban, Afghanistan's make-up industry is likely to suffer a massive setback

Soon after the Taliban fighters entered Kabul on August 15, the women who ran beauty parlours in the city shut shops and defaced the posters of glamourous models outside, in a move to appease the militant group.

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UAE sends plane loaded with aid to Afghanistan: State media. (AFP)

The United Arab Emirates sent a plane carrying "urgent medical and food aid" to Afghanistan on Friday, the official WAM news agency said, nearly three weeks after the Taliban's takeover.

The "assistance comes within the framework of the humanitarian role being played by the UAE to provide full support to brotherly Afghan people in such current circumstances," WAM said.

Putin says we need to discuss 'legalising' political force in Afghanistan

President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that there would be no political force to talk to directly if Afghanistan breaks up as a country and called for joint efforts to decide about "legalising" a political force there.

Putin made the comment at a forum in Vladivostok where he was asked if Moscow would recognise the Taliban government. (Reuters)

Flow of Afghans crossing into Pakistan, Iran remains "small": UN refugee agency

Afghan nationals have not been fleeing in large numbers across the borders to Pakistan and Iran in the wake of the Taliban takeover on Aug. 15, but some have crossed over indicating they intend to claim asylum, the UNrefugee agency said on Friday.

Babar Baloch, spokesan of the UNHigh Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), speaking from Islamabad, said that the numbers leaving Afghanistan "remain small", but gave no figures.(Reuters)

US defends strike that Afghan family says killed innocents

Sunday's USdrone strike killed 10 members of an Afghan family, six of them children.White House press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged the reports of civilian casualties on Thursday and said they were being investigated. Previously, American officials have noted that subsequent explosions resulted from the destruction of the vehicle and may have caused additional casualties. (AP)

HC asks Delhi govt, police to ensure Afghan protestors’ reduced, follow Covid-19 norms

The Delhi High Court Friday directed the Delhi government and the police to ensure that the number of Afghan nationals, protesting outside the UNHCR office here and seeking refugee status, is suitably reduced and they strictly follow Covid-19 appropriate protocol.

Stating that the law is same for everybody, the high court questioned the authorities as to how there can be 500 persons gathered for protest when the guidelines do not permit it.

The court was hearing a petition by Vasant Vihar Welfare Association which stated that the foreign nationals (refugees/ asylum seekers) have gathered outside the office of the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) at B Block in South Delhi’s Vasant Vihar since August 15, including lanes and parks adjoining it and residents are facing difficulties due to this. (PTI)

Health organisations in Afghanistan expressed their concernabout World Bank halting aid to institutions in the war-torn country. At a rally in Kabul, they said the World Bank should resume aid. (Tolo News)

US has no plans to release billions in Afghan assets, Treasury says

The Biden administration has no plans to release billions in Afghan gold, investments and foreign currency reserves parked in the United States that it froze after the Taliban's takeover, despite pressure from humanitarian groups and others who say the cost may be the collapse of Afghanistan's economy.

Much of the Afghan central bank's $10 billion in assets are parked overseas, where they are considered a key instrument for the West to pressure the Taliban to respect women's rights and the rule of law.

Any unfreezing of these assets may be months away, financial experts said. (Reuters)

Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, deputy head of the Taliban's political office, discussed political and security situation in the country during a meeting with British diplomat Simon Gass.

Taliban spokesman Sohail Shaheensaid that Gass has announced the continuation of Britain's humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and said his country is ready to cooperate with the "Islamic Emirate" in the future, Tolo News reported.

No regrets for Afghanistan veteran after second Paralympics canoe gold

Australian canoeist Curtis McGrath lost his legs in Afghanistan, but said Friday he was "pretty content" and had no regrets about the time he served there after winning a second Paralympics gold.

McGrath powered to victory through the wind and rain in the men's KL2 canoe sprint to retain the gold he won in Rio five years ago.

Nine years ago he was a 24-year-old serviceman three months into a tour of insurgent-rife areas of Afghanistan when he stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) and his life changed forever.

The Taliban swept back into power last month, something that McGrath admitted earlier in the week had been a distraction in the run-up to the Paralympics. (AFP)

Foreign aid groups in Afghanistan navigate Taliban rule

As a humanitarian catastrophe looms, relief organisations are scrambling to maintain their operations in war-ravaged Afghanistan, holding high-stakes talks with the Taliban in a bid to salvage their critical lifeline of aid.

Even before the Taliban's lightning offensive that ousted the Western-backed government on August 15, Afghanistan was already heavily aid-dependent -- with 40 percent of the country's GDP drawn from foreign funding.

The UN has warned 18 million people are staring down the barrel of humanitarian disaster, and another 18 million could quickly join them. (AFP)

Taliban close to forming new government in Afghanistan

The Taliban were on Friday close to forming a government, with the hardliners under intense international scrutiny over their vow to rule Afghanistan with greater tolerance, especially on women's rights.

The announcement of a new administration, earlier expected to be made after Friday afternoon prayers, would now not happen until Saturday at the earliest, a Taliban spokesman told AFP.

The hardline Islamists face the enormous challenge of shifting gears from insurgent group to governing power, days after the United States fully withdrew its troops and ended two decades of war.

Fate of UN Afghanistan mission in the balance as humanitarian flights resume

The fate of the United Nations political mission in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover is a source of grave concern within the global body, UN sources told AFP, as humanitarian flights resumed this week.

The mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) was due to end on September 17, and it's extension is set to be debated on September 9 by the UN Security Council.

The context of the potential renewal has changed dramatically, however, after the Taliban swept back into control mid-August, forcing a chaotic withdrawal of foreign governments, their troops, citizens and Afghan allies. (AFP)

Western Union and MannyGram have announced that they have resumed money transfer services to Afghanistan.

UN humanitarian flights resume to Afghanistan

The United Nations has resumed humanitarian flights to northern and southernAfghanistanafter the Taliban takeover, a spokesman said Thursday.

The UN Humanitarian Air Service is now operating flights "to enable 160 humanitarian organizations to continue their life-saving activities inAfghanistan's provinces," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

The flights link the Pakistani capital Islamabad with the city Mazar-i-Sharif in northernAfghanistanand with Kandahar in the south. Three flights have already landed in Mazar-i-Sharif since August 29. The UN Humanitarian Air Service is operated by the World Food Program. (AFP)

Bidens visit wounded troops at Walter Reed

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden visited injured US troops at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Thursday night.

There are 15 Marines at the hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, who were wounded in an Aug. 26 suicide bombing at the Kabul airport. The attack occurred as the USgovernment was arranging evacuations of Americans, Afghans and allies before the nearly two-decade war in Afghanistan officially ended Aug. 31. (AP)

No evidence to verify whether Pakistan brought in fighters to support Taliban in Afghanistan: Pentagon

The Pentagon has said it has seen no evidence to corroborate reports that there were Pakistan nationals along with the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.

“I have not seen anything to corroborate that report,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters at a news conference on Thursday when asked about the reported allegations by former Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani that Pakistan had sent between 10,000 to 15,000 of its men along with the Taliban to capture Kabul and Afghanistan. (PTI)

A News18 report suggests that the Taliban is unlikely to form a government today as negotiations are still underway.

World united in what they expect Taliban to do for recognition in Afghanistan: White House

The world is united in what they expect the Taliban to do to get recognition in Afghanistan from the international community, the White House said noting that it is for China to decide where it would like to stand on the situation.

“The world is united in what they expect the Taliban to do, which is allow people who want to depart the country to depart. And China has to decide where they are in that effort,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Thursday. (PTI)

UN humanitarian flights resume to Afghanistan

The United Nations has resumed humanitarian flights to northern and southern Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, a spokesman said Thursday.

The UN Humanitarian Air Service is now operating flights "to enable 160 humanitarian organizations to continue their life-saving activities in Afghanistan's provinces," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

The flights link the Pakistani capital Islamabad with the city Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan and with Kandahar in the south. Three flights have already landed in Mazar-i-Sharif since August 29. The UN Humanitarian Air Service is operated by the World Food Program.

(AFP)

Members of the Taliban force stand guard, during an organised media tour to the Pakistan-Afghanistan crossing border, in Torkham. Credit: Reuters Photo

India non-committal on recognising new Afghan govt that Taliban is planning to announce soon

Though the Taliban is preparing to announce its government in Kabul, India on Thursday remained non-committal on recognising the new dispensation in Afghanistan, notwithstanding its recent engagement with the leadership of the militant organisation.

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Taliban close to forming new government in Afghanistan

The Taliban may announce their cabinet Friday, sources said, with a sceptical world watching for clues on whether the new regime will keep its promises to Afghanistan -- particularly for women -- while facing enormous economic hurdles.

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