Afghanistan News highlights: Taliban rejects allegations of torturing civilians in Panjshir, says report

India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban last month returned to power through a military offensive taking advantage of the withdrawal of troops by the United States. Meanwhile, 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.

Taliban rubbishes allegations of torturing civilians in Panjshir: TOLOnews

Rajnath, Lloyd Austin discuss Afghanistan situation in telephonic conversation

Afghan women outraged by new Taliban restrictions on work

Fears were mounting in Afghanistan on Monday as the Taliban tightened their grip on women's rights, slashing access to work and denying girls the right to secondary school education.

After pledging a softer version of their brutal and repressive regime of the 1990s, the Islamic fundamentalists have been stripping away at freedoms one month after seizing power.

"I may as well be dead," said one woman, who was sacked from her senior role at the foreign ministry. (AFP)

Schools must be haven for children: Kailash Satyarthi on Afghanistan

The longer schools are shut the more the likelihood that children from poor families will never return to their classrooms, says Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi while stressing that the decision to reopen has to be “medical assessment driven”.

Describing schools as a haven for children, the renowned child rights activist also expressed concern over the situation inAfghanistanafter the Taliban seized control over large parts of the country last month following the withdrawal of US-led forces.

"The progress we have made till now for the safety and protection of children and women inAfghanistanmust not be lost. Schools must be a safe haven for children and no child must be used in any form of combat. This is essential to basic human liberty and dignity," Satyarthi toldPTI in an exclusive interview. (PTI)

'Art is dying': Afghan artists hope to resist Taliban rule

Two days after the Taliban seized Kabul last month, 26-year-old artist Sara took the terracotta plates she'd painted with images praising inspirational Afghan women -- and hurled them to the ground.

"Art, for me, was to be able to express everything I couldn't say with words," she said from the capital. "It dealt mainly with violence against women."

The last Taliban regime from 1996 to 2001 saw women brutally suppressed, as well as music banned and the destruction of artworks and heritage, including dynamiting ancient statues of the Buddha. (AFP)

Islamic State militants claim attacks on Taliban

The extremist Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly bombings targeting Taliban vehicles in eastern Afghanistan.

The claim, published late Sunday on the militant group's media arm, the Aamaq news agency, signals a growing threat to the Taliban by their long-time rivals.

At least eight people, including several Taliban fighters, were killed in the attacks on Sunday and Saturday in the provincial city of Jalalabad, an IS stronghold.

(AP)

The Taliban flags are seen on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 16, 2021. Picture taken on September 16, 2021.

Credit: WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Islamic state claims responsibility for attacks in eastern Afghanistan

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a series of bomb attacks in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, the group's Amaaq News Agency said on its Telegram channel on Sunday.

"More than 35 Taliban militia members were killed or wounded, in a series of explosions that took place," the militant group said, referring to blasts on Saturday and Sunday.

There was no immediate comment from the Taliban about the death toll.

(Reuters)

How US helped, hampered escape of Afghan journalists

The secretary of state cites a “massive effort” by the government, but people involved in the evacuation instead describe bureaucratic snags.

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We have to consider Afghan children as our own: Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi

UNESCO, UNICEF say closed Afghan girls' schools violates fundamental right to education

(ANI)

A Taliban fighter looks at an aquarium at the Kabul Zoo on September 17, 2021.

Credit: AFP Photo

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

A fourth chartered flight carrying civilians from Afghanistan to Qatar since US forces withdrew last month left Kabul on Sunday with more than 230 passengers, including Afghans, Americans and Europeans, a 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)

Pakistan sends humanitarian aid to Afghanistan via Torkham border crossing

Pakistan on Sunday started dispatching humanitarian aid to Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing and sent 13 truckloads of food items including flour, sugar, cooking oil, pulses and rice.

This was the first tranche of assistance relief crossed from Pakistan through the land after the Taliban seized Kabul in mid-August.

(PTI)

A Taliban fighter watches as Afghan women hold placards during a demonstration demanding better rights for women in front of the former Ministry of Women Affairs in Kabul on September 19, 2021.

Credit: AFP Photo

Fearful US residents in Afghanistan hide from Taliban

Every night in yet another house in Afghanistan'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.

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Stay home: Taliban order to female civic workers in Kabul

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.

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Jaishankar holds talks with Saudi counterpart, says 'very useful' exchange of views on Afghanistan

India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban last month returned to power through a military offensive taking advantage of the withdrawal of troops by the United States.

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