Afghanistan Crisis LIVE: US President To Speak On Chaotic Evacuation Of Americans From Kabul
Afghanistan Taliban Crisis LIVE: With the Taliban now in control in Kabul, a total of 7,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan and over 5,200 US troops are in Kabul, said the Pentagon.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Deputy PM & Minister of Foreign Affairs; exchanged views on Afghanistan earlier today in Doha, Qatar
Facing a firestorm of criticism, President Joe Biden plans to speak on Friday about the chaotic evacuation of Americans and allies from Afghanistan as the US struggles with obstacles ranging from armed Taliban checkpoints to paperwork problems.
While Biden has previously blamed Afghans for the US failure to get out more allies ahead of this month's sudden Taliban takeover, US officials told The Associated Press that American diplomats had formally urged weeks ago that the Biden administration ramp up evacuation efforts.
Family members of a number of former government officials on Thursday said their relatives have disappeared or are being held by the Taliban since the arrival of the Taliban on Sunday, Tolo News reported.
"The Taliban released all government officials, but Lotfullah Kamran was not released," said Abdul Ghani, a relative of Kamran told the Afghanistan-based media house.
US President Joe Biden will speak at 10.30 pm Friday on the evacuation operation in Afghanistan, the White House has said on Friday.
New Zealand is providing NZ$3 million ($2 million) in humanitarian assistance to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said on Friday.
Mahuta said in a statement that these organisations are providing life-saving humanitarian support for crisis affected communities in Afghanistan, and those seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, Xinhua news agency reported.
Al Qaeda's Yemeni branch has congratulated the Taliban on their takeover of Afghanistan.
"This victory and empowerment reveals to us that jihad and fighting represent the Sharia-based, legal, and realistic way to restore rights (and) expel the invaders and occupiers," Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said in a statement.
"As for the game of democracy and working with simple pacifism, it is a deceptive mirage, a fleeting shadow, and a vicious circle that starts with a zero and ends with it," said the statement carried by SITE Intelligence group, which monitors extremist networks worldwide, a global news wire reported.
The Taliban have searched the closed Indian Consulates in Kandahar and Herat two days ago and the reportedly took some documents from the two missions.
According to news agency IANS, the insurgents broke into the Consulate buildings and also took parked vehicles.
India has four Indian consulates located in Kandahar, Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad which were closed after the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15.
In a highly shocking incident, the Taliban fighters hunting a DW journalist have reportedly shot dead one member of his family and seriously injured another while conducting a house-to-house search to try and find the journalist, who now works in Germany.
Meanwhile, the Taliban have raided the homes of at least three DW journalists.
The G7 nations have sought to secure close cooperation in personnel evacuation and the resettlement of refugees as chaos continues at the Kabul airport amid the hasty withdrawal of the US-led military troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban's swift takeover of the war-torn country.
The Foreign Ministers of G7 -- the UK Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US -- as well as the high representative of the European Union, met online on Thursday and "spoke about the gravity of the situation and the significant loss of life and internal displacement in Afghanistan over recent days", according to a statement issued by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in his capacity as the chair of the meeting.
At a time when roughly two-thirds of Americans say they think the Afghanistan war wasn't worth fighting, US President Joe Biden stood his ground on his decision to exit Afghanistan nearly 20 years after the September 11 attacks.He believes history will judge the US experience in Afghanistan as one where it "overextended" its stay to deal with its national interest.
"Are we gonna go to war because of what's goin' on in Tajikistan? What do you think?", Biden told ABC News in a wide ranging interview on America's exit from its longest war.
"I think the American people are with me," Biden told ABC News. "And when you unite that country, what do you have?," he asked. "They're surrounded by Russia in the north or the Stans in the north. You have-- to the west, they have Iran. To the south, they have Pakistan, who's supporting them. And to the-- and-- actually, the east, they have Pakistan and China. Tell me. Tell me. Is that worth our national interest to continue to spend another $1 trillion and lose thousands more American lives? For what?"
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that he is ready to talk to the Taliban that has taken over Afghanistan amid fears of widepread human rights abuses.
"I'm ready to speak myself when it is clear with whom should I speak, for what purpose," he said on Thursday at a briefing for reporters.
While answering a question about contacts with the Taliban, he said, "I have not spoken myself, but our people in Afghanistan are in close contact with the Taliban and very strongly conveying that message" of respect for human rights and preventing the use of the territory by terrorists.
A total of 7,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the start of evacuation operations on August 14 and over 5,200 US troops are in Kabul, the Pentagon said on Thursday. Cumulatively, the number of people moved out of Afghanistan is somewhere near 12,000.
"The US military footprint and Kabul now has more than 5,200 total troops on the ground. Kabul airport remains secure and open for flight operations. There are now multiple gates that have access for entry into the airfield, which will help expedite processing in a safe and orderly manner," said Major General Hank Taylor, Commanding General of the Army Operational Test Command.
Major General Taylor, who has been given the responsibility to airlift US citizens from Afghanistan amid the Taliban crisis, said in the past 24 hours, 13 C-17s arrived with additional troops and equipment, and 12 C-17 military planes departed. These flights, containing more than 2,000 passengers, left Kabul and arrived at designated safe havens and staging areas in the CENTCOM area of operation, he said.
Background
Afghanistan Taliban Crisis LIVE: The Taliban took control of Afghanistan on Sunday. Their sudden victory, which comes as the US withdraws from the country following a 20-year-war, has sparked chaos at Kabul's airport, from where America and allied nations are trying to safely evacuate thousands of citizens and allies.
With the Taliban now in control in Kabul, a total of 7,000 people have been evacuated from Afghanistan since the start of evacuation operations on August 14 and over 5,200 US troops are in Kabul. The Pentagon said that cumulatively, the number of people moved out of Afghanistan is somewhere near 12,000.
India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar while speaking at the UN Security Council stakeout after chairing an open-debate on peacekeeping under India's current UNSC Presidency, said that 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.
"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," Jaishankar added.
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