Afghanistan News Highlights: UN says Taliban must stop targeting protesters, journalists

The interim Afghan government led by Mullah Hassan Akhund was not what the world hoped to see, the US said on Thursday. Meanwhile, over 100 passengers landed in Doha after the Taliban permitted the first flight since the US withdrawal to leave Kabul. The White House appreciated Taliban's professionalism in the evacuation process. Stay tuned to DH for more updates

Afghanistan risks 'generational catastrophe' on education: UN

Afghanistan risks backsliding on nearly two decades of schooling gains for children, especially girls, as the prospect of violence looms with the return of Taliban rule, the UN's education agency said on Friday.

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Many names in Taliban's de facto admin listed by UN; Security Council needs to decide steps on sanctions: UN official

Many members in the “de facto” Taliban administration in Afghanistan, including the prime minister and foreign minister, are designated by the United Nations, and the Security Council needs to decide steps on the sanctions list, a top UN official has said as she warned that the ISIL-K remains active and “could gain strength”.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Special Representative for Afghanistan Deborah Lyons, who is also the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, said: “We are faced, as of two days ago, with a de facto administration announced by the Taliban”.

(PTI)

Brother of Afghan opposition figure executed by Taliban, family says

The Taliban have executed the brother of Amrullah Saleh, the former Afghan vice president who became one of the leaders of anti-Taliban opposition forces in the Panjshir valley, his nephew said on Friday.

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UN says Taliban must stop targeting protesters, journalists

The UN on Friday condemned the Taliban's increasingly violent response to peaceful protests, including using live rounds that killed several people, and warned that nearly all Afghan households weren't getting enough to eat.

"We call on the Taliban to immediately cease the use of force towards, and the arbitrary detention of, those exercising their right to peaceful assembly and the journalists covering the protests," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the United Nations human rights office.

(AFP)

No BRICS recognition for Taliban govt until int’l law assurances: SA foreign minister

The BRICS countries have agreed not to recognise the Taliban government in Afghanistan until they receive assurances that it will comply with the prescripts of international law, South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor said on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday chaired a virtual summit of the five-nation grouping. The 13th BRICS summit was also attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro.

(PTI)

Isolating Afghanistan will have 'serious consequences' for region and world at large: Pak FM Qureshi

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday urged the international community to adopt a "new positive approach" towards Afghanistan, warning that isolating the country will have "serious consequences" for the Afghan people, the region and the world at large.

Qureshi made the comments during a joint press conference along with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, who arrived in Islamabad on Friday to discuss the latest Afghan situation.

(PTI)

UK spy chief warns Taliban takeover could fuel terror plots

The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan has “hearted and emboldened” extremists and could lead to the return of major “al-Qaida-style” attack plots against the West, the head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency said on Friday.

MI5 Director General Ken McCallum said the UK could face “more risk” because of the withdrawal of NATO troops and the overthrow of the internationally backed Afghan government.

(AP)

Kremlin says Russia will not take part in Afghan government inauguration

The Kremlin said on Friday Russia would not take part in any way in the Taliban government's inauguration ceremony in Afghanistan.

The speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament said earlier this week that Russia would be represented at the inauguration by ambassador-level officials, the RIA news agency reported.

(Reuters)

Taliban fighters walk past a Qatar Airways aircraft preparing to take off from the airport in Kabul on September 9, 2021. Credit: AFP Photo

Afghanistan teetering on brink of 'universal poverty', says UN development agency

The United Nations development agency has said Afghanistan is teetering on the brink of “universal poverty” which could become a reality in the middle of next year unless urgent efforts are made to bolster local communities and their economies.

It said the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has put 20 years of steady economic gains at risk.

The UN Development Programme outlined four scenarios for Afghanistan following the Taliban's August 15 assumption of power that predict the country's GDP will decline between 3.6% and 13.2% in the next fiscal year starting in June 2022, depending on the intensity of the crisis and how much the world engages with the Taliban.

Pakistan rejects reports alluding to its involvement in Panjshir Valley offensive

Pakistan has rejected reports that it was aiding the Taliban offensive in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley, terming these as a "mischievous propaganda campaign”.

The Taliban said on Monday they have seized Panjshir Valley, the last province not in their control after their blitz through Afghanistan last month.

Some reports quoted a CENTCOM source saying that the Pakistani military was assisting the Taliban offensive in Panjshir with 27 helicopters full of Pakistani Special Forces backed up by drone strikes.

The Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar in an overnight statement “categorically rejected these allegations as part of a mischievous propaganda campaign”.

Passengers leave a Qatar Airlines plane arriving from Kabul, Afghanistan, the first international commercial flight since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, in Doha, Qatar.

Credit: Reuters Photo

US says Taliban 'businesslike and professional' in Afghan evacuation

The United States on Thursday praised the Taliban as businesslike and cooperative in facilitating the first evacuation of Americans from Afghanistan since the US military withdrawal.

The departure from Kabul to Doha on a chartered Qatar Airways flight Thursday marked "a positive first step" with the new regime, National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne said.

"The Taliban have been cooperative in facilitating the departure of American citizens and lawful permanent residents on charter flights from HKIA," she said in a statement, referring to Kabul's Hamid Karzai International Airport.

"They have shown flexibility, and they have been businesslike and professional in our dealings with them in this effort."

How Pakistan won the war in Afghanistan

Most US allies expressed shock, sadness and anger at the Taliban’s victory last month in Kabul. But Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan celebrated the rout of Afghanistan’s elected government, saying the Taliban had “broken the shackles of slavery.”

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Paine says teams may refuse to play Afghanistan at T20 World Cup

Australia captain Tim Paine said the chances of their first ever test against Afghanistan going ahead are "not looking good" with the Taliban unwilling to let women play cricket and questioned why the game's governing body had remained quiet on the issue.

Australia are due to face the Afghanistan men's team in Hobart from Nov. 27 but Cricket Australia said on Thursday they would not host the side if reports women's cricket would not be supported in the country were substantiated.

UN chief calls for 'dialogue' with the Taliban, fears for the Sahel

UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded for nations to continue dialogue with the Taliban, during an interview with AFP Thursday, as he expressed fears that the hardline Islamists' return to power in Afghanistan could embolden jihadists in the Sahel.

"We must maintain a dialogue with the Taliban, where we affirm our principles directly -- a dialogue with a feeling of solidarity with the Afghan people," he said.

"Our duty is to extend our solidarity to a people who suffer greatly, where millions and millions risk dying of hunger," added the secretary-general.

Guterres said that the world must avoid an "economic collapse" in Afghanistan.

The Taliban caretakers will keep the neighbours up

Announced on Tuesday, the new caretaker administration is dominated by the Taliban’s military faction, with hardliners in key positions. Baradar is only in the third tier of the hierarchy, as one of two deputy prime ministers.

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UN says Afghan staff increasingly harassed, intimidated since Taliban takeover

Afghan staff of the United Nations are being increasingly subjected to harassment and intimidation since the Taliban came to power last month, the UNspecial envoy onAfghanistanDeborah Lyons said on Thursday.

Lyons told the Security Council that UNpremises had largely been respected, although there were some exceptions. (Reuters)

Interim Taliban govt does not reflect what international community hoped to see: US

The interim Taliban government does not reflect what the international community and the United States hoped to see, the Biden Administration said on Thursday. (PTI)

Taliban-led Afghanistan needs funds to avoid collapse: UN

A UN envoy on Thursday urged the world to keep money flowing into Afghanistan despite concerns over the Taliban government, warning the already poor country could otherwise suffer a historic breakdown.

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Taliban was 'businesslike and professional' in new evacuation: White House

The Taliban was businesslike, "professional" and cooperative in facilitating the latest evacuation of US nationals from Afghanistan, the White House said Thursday.

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Over 100 passengers leave Kabul in first flight since US pullout

Just over 100 passengers, including Americans, left Kabul airport on Thursday on the first flight carrying foreigners out of the Afghan capital since a US-led evacuation ended on August 30.

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