Afghanistan crisis: Taliban go door-to-door telling fearful Afghans to work

Afghan national had narrow escape from Afghanistan

Ahmed Abdul Ghani, 30, an Afghan resident, had a narrow escape as he came to India on August 14, a day before the Talibanis captured the ARG Presidential Palace. Ahmed, who works as a businessman in the pharma industry in Lajpat Nagar, came to India for the first time in 2012. The journey of Ahmed has been a rollercoaster ride. Ahmed, a former officer in the US Army, was the head manager for 4,500 interpreters in International Security Assistant Force (ISAF), which is a NATO-led military mission, for five years until 2012. Then tragedy struck him. His father, Abdul Ghani, was shot dead by the Talibanis. The reason: Ahmed did not cooperate with the insurgents in providing details of the number of interpreters working in the ISAF.

India 'very carefully' following developments in Afghanistan: EAM Jaishankar

With the Taliban now in control in Kabul, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said New Delhi is 'very carefully' following the developments in Afghanistan and India's focus is on ensuring the security and safe return of Indian nationals still in the war-torn country. Jaishankar, addressing reporters at the UN Security Council stakeout after chairing an open-debate on peacekeeping under India's current UNSC Presidency, said that (situation in Afghanistan) is really what has been very much the focus of my own engagements here, talking to the UN Secretary General and other colleagues who are here as well as the US Secretary of State.

2,000 evacuated from Afghanistan now: Pentagon

The Pentagon says that 2,000 people including 325 American citizens were evacuated from Afghanistan in 18 flights over the past 24 hours, just days after the Taliban's stunningly swift takeover of the country. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says the US military is still working toward its goal of getting a maximum of 5,000 to 9,000 people out a day.

Taliban go door-to-door telling fearful Afghans to work

Armed Taliban members knocked on doors in cities across Afghanistan on Wednesday (August 18), witnesses said, telling fearful residents to return to their jobs a day after the militants announced they wanted to revive the country's battered economy. Widespread destruction during a 20-year war between U.S.-backed government forces and the Taliban, the drop in local spending due to departing foreign troops, a tumbling currency and lack of dollars are fuelling economic crisis in the country.

Taliban stop exports, imports from India

The Taliban have stopped all imports and exports with India after entering Kabul and taking over the country on Sunday. Dr Ajay Sahai, Director General (DG) of Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) told ANI that currently, the Taliban has stopped the movement of cargo through the transit routes of Pakistan, thereby stopping imports from the country. "We keep a close watch on developments in Afghanistan. Imports from there come through the transit route of Pakistan. As of now, the Taliban has stopped the movement of cargo to Pakistan, so virtually imports have stopped," FIEO DG told ANI.

The Taliban have stopped all imports and exports with India after entering Kabul and taking over the country on Sunday. Dr Ajay Sahai, Director General (DG) of Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) told ANI that currently, the Taliban has stopped the movement of cargo through the transit routes of Pakistan, thereby stopping imports from the country. 

3 dead after anti-Taliban protests in Jalalabad-witnesses

At least three people were killed and more than a dozen injured after Taliban militants opened fire during protests against the group in the Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday, two witnesses told Reuters. Witnesses said the deaths followed an attempt by local residents to install Afghanistan's national flag at a square in the city, some 150 km (90 miles) to the east of Kabul.

A Delhi-based industry body on Wednesday said the change of regime in Afghanistan would impact India's trade relationship with the neighbouring country. The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) in a statement said India and Afghanistan had a bilateral trade of about 'Rs 10,000 crore' in 2020-2021. It includes goods worth Rs 6,000 crore being exported from India to Afghanistan, and products worth Rs 3,800 crore being imported from Afghanistan to India.

Twenty-one Indian nationals were on the first French evacuation flight from Kabul, said Emmanuel Lenain, ambassador of France to India on Wednesday. Lenain said that Elite Gurkhas were ensuring security to this evacuation flight.

Taliban denied access to USD 9.5 billion of Afghan money

The United States has frozen nearly USD 9.5 billion in assets belonging to the Afghan central bank and stopped shipments of cash to the nation as it tries to keep a Taliban-led government from accessing the money, Bloomberg reported. The official said that any central bank assets that the Afghan government has in the US will not be available to the Taliban, which remains on the Treasury Department`s sanctions designation list.

Freed Afghan Taliban prisoners among thousands entering Pakistan

Thousands of Afghans have entered Pakistan through the Spin Boldak/Chaman border crossing in Afghanistan's southeast after the Taliban's takeover of the country earlier this week, including patients seeking medical attention and freed Taliban prisoners. On Tuesday, the border remained open for all Afghans carrying valid identity documents or proof of being a registered Afghan refugee resident in Pakistan, Afghan travellers and authorities told Al Jazeera.

China expects new Afghan regime to make break of terrorists

China encourages the Afghan Taliban to pursue a moderate religious policy and hopes that the new Afghan regime can make a clean break with all kinds of international terrorist forces, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said during a press conference.

World leaders, experts criticise US policy in Afghanistan

World leaders, political commentators and foreign affairs experts have joined the international chorus denouncing the US policy in Afghanistan, under which a 20-year military deployment suddenly came to a chaotic end on Sunday.

Taliban open fire on people rallying in support of national flag in Nangarhar: Report

Members of the Taliban opened fire on people rallying in support of the Afghan national flag in the eastern Nangarhar province, a local source told Sputnik on Wednesday. Some people were killed and others were injured, the source continued. Meanwhile, Afghan news agency Pajhwok reported that Taliban militants had beaten journalists working for it and the Ariana News broadcaster who were covering the rally. 

Fearing Afghan refugee influx, Turkey reinforces border

Fearing a new refugee crisis, Turkey is sending soldiers to reinforce its border with Iran in order to stop a potential influx of Afghans fleeing the Taliban insurgency. Irregular arrivals are already up as Afghans who fled weeks and months ago show up at Turkey's rugged border area after a long trek across Iran. A group of Afghans encountered by The Associated Press near the border said they had deserted the Afghan military and fled the country as the Taliban offensive accelerated.

Afghan ex-president Hamid Karzai meets senior faction leader

Afghanistan's former president has met with a senior leader of a powerful Taliban faction who was once jailed and whose group has been listed by the US as a terrorist network. Former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, a senior official in the ousted government met with Anas Haqqani as part of preliminary meetings that a spokesman for Karzai said would would facilitate eventual negotiations with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the top Taliban political leader.

Slamming Joe Biden for the way he handled Afghanistan crisis, Donald Trump, in an exclusive interview with Fox News, said, "Beyond embarrassment, this is something that will affect our relationship for years to come and decades to come. When China watches this, they're so happy. They are laughing at us. They are laughing." He also called the Afghanistan crisis "the greatest embarrassment in the history of the United States".

A classified assessment by American spy agencies had predicted the collapse of the Afghan military and Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, despite US President Joe Biden's assurances that Kabul was unlikely to fall according to the New York Times. 

Canada has said that it has no plans to accept the Taliban as the new government of Afghanistan as the terror group entered the presidential palace on Sunday (August 15) and seized the Afghan capital declaring its victory over the Afghanistan government."They have taken over and replaced a duly elected democratic government by force. We have no plans to recognise the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan. They are a recognised terrorist organization under Canadian law. Our focus right now is on getting people out of Afghanistan and the Taliban need to ensure free access to people to get to the airport," Canada`s CTV Network quoted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as saying.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has said that his country would make serious efforts to stabilise Afghanistan as the country`s government fell on Sunday and the Taliban took over the control, a media report said."The military defeat and pull out of the US from Afghanistan must be turned into an opportunity to revive life, security and sustainable peace in the country," Tehran Times quoted Raisi as saying.

The Taliban said they wanted peaceful relations with other countries and would respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law, as they held their first official news briefing since their lightning seizure of Kabul. The Taliban announcements, short on details but suggesting a softer line than during their rule 20 years ago, came as the United States and Western allies resumed evacuating diplomats and civilians the day after scenes of chaos at Kabul airport. (Reuters)

The US military evacuated about 1,100 Americans, permanent residents of the United States, and their families from Afghanistan on Tuesday (August 17), a White House official said.
"Now that we have established the flow, we expect those numbers to escalate," the official said in a statement. (Reuters)

India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday (August 17) met Estonia counterpart Eva Maria Liimets and exchanged views on the developments in Afghanistan. Jaishankar is in New York to preside over two high-level meetings of the UNSC on UN peacekeeping and terrorism.

US President Joe Biden has spoken with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the situation in Afghanistan, marking his first call with another world leader since the Taliban took control of the country on August 15. The White House said the leaders agreed on the need for close coordination with allies about the future of aid and support to Afghanistan now that the Taliban is in charge. Johnson holds the presidency of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies, and the White House says he will convene a virtual meeting of the group next week to discuss the path forward in Afghanistan.