Afghanistan Taliban Crisis LIVE: China Says Sanctions Against Taliban Not Productive
Afghanistan Crisis LIVE, August 24, Tuesday: The districts of Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar near Panjshir were taken by local militia groups last week, but they have been again captured by the Taliban
As the leaders of the G7 countries are set to meet on Tuesday to discuss the Afghan crisis and possible economic sanctions against the Taliban, China expressed reservations over imposing penalties, saying the US and its allies should learn lessons from the past and act prudently.
The Group of Seven leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States are due to hold a virtual meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation arising after Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and coordinate international response to the crisis.
Afghanistan's Hazaras, a Shiite minority, are calling on the Taliban to set up an inclusive government in which all ethnic groups would have a voice. Shiite leader Sayed Hussain Alimi Balkhi said the country's Shiite clerics have issued a declaration stating that a future parliament in Afghanistan should include members of different sects of Islam.
Taliban Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid says US should not encourage the Afghan elite to leave the country. He also says that the Taliban are committed to resolving the problem in Panjshir peacefully: TOLOnews
CIA Director William J. Burns has recently held a secret meeting in Kabul with the Taliban’s de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the Taliban and the Biden administration ever since insurgents seized the Afghan capital, Washington Post reported quoted US officials familiar with the matter.
There is no official statement by the US on the meeting but it is most likely that the talks were on the sidelines of August 31 deadline for the US military to conclude its airlift of US citizens and Afghan allies.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, and the two leaders had a detailed discussion on the evolving situation in Afghanistan.
Modi tweeted, "Had a detailed and useful exchange of views with my friend President Putin on recent developments in Afghanistan. We also discussed issues on the bilateral agenda, including India-Russia cooperation against COVID-19. We agreed to continue close consultations on important issues."
A Ukrainian plane that arrived in Afghanistan to evacuate Ukrainians has been hijacked by unidentified people who flew it into Iran, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin said on Tuesday.
"Last Sunday, our plane was hijacked by other people. On Tuesday, the plane was practically stolen from us, it flew into Iran with an unidentified group of passengers onboard instead of airlifting Ukrainians. Our next three evacuation attempts were also not successful because our people could not get into the airport," he said.
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, along with MoS MEA V Muraleedharan and BJP leader RP Singh among others, received three copies of Sikh scripture Shri Guru Granth Sahib that arrived from Afghanistan along with evacuees in an Indian Air Force flight, at Delhi airport on Tuesday morning.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to urge the world leaders at a virtual G-7 meeting to step up support for refugees fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan. He will call for an increase in aid, and promise "to use every humanitarian and diplomatic lever" to protect human rights in the country, reports the BBC.
Ahead of the meeting, Johnson has said that the first priority should be "to complete the evacuation of our citizens and those Afghans who have assisted our efforts over the last 20 years".
"As we look ahead to the next phase, it's vital we come together as an international community and agree on a joint approach for the longer term," he added.
The British Prime Minister would also ask the US President Joe Biden to extend the 31 August deadline for withdrawing the troops from the war-weary country.
Amid the worsening situation after since the take over by the Taliban, it has been decided to postpone Afghanistan's three-match ODI series against Pakistan.
According to media reports, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday initially decided to host the series in Pakistan from September 3 instead of Afghanistan.
However, later in the day, ACB came to the conclusion that the mental health of the players has been affected following Taliban's takeover of the war-torn nation. Players are not getting enough time to prepare due to the regime change in the country. Moreover, the flight operations have also been suspended at Kabul airport.
Hence, keeping in mind the mental health of the players, the board decided that it was best to put the series on hold. The two boards have agreed that the series, which was planned from September 1-8, will be rescheduled for 2022.
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The European Union (EU) should support the countries close to Afghanistan to ensure that there will be no additional refugee and migration flows to Europe, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
The Greek Prime Minister spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone on Friday about the latest developments in Afghanistan, Xinhua news agency reported.
"I talked to President Erdogan and I believe we have a common interest to ensure that the influx will be limited to as close to Afghanistan as possible," Mitsotakis told visiting Vice President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola
A special flight of Air India from Dushanbe ferrying the 77 stranded people from Kabul is likely to arrive in Delhi shortly at 9:50 am. Union Min Hardeep Singh Puri, MoS MEA V Muraleedharan & BJP leader RP Singh will receive the swaroop of Shri Guru Granth Sahib, brought from Kabul, today at Delhi airport.
Afghanistan's pop star Aryana Sayeed thanked India for all the support and said India is the only good friend we have amongst the neighborhood.
"On behalf of the entire Afghanistan, I want to express my utmost gratitude to India and I want to say thank you. Over the years we've realized that the only good friend amongst the neighborhood we have is, India. "
India has always been good to us. They've been a true friend, they've been very helpful & kind to our people who were refugees in India. Every Afghan that I've met in my life that was in India before, has spoken very good about Indian people. We're grateful, Aryana added.
The Taliban were in position near the Panjshir valley and had retaken three districts in northern Afghanistan that fell to local militia groups last week, a spokesman said on Monday, though there were no confirmed reports of further fighting.
The districts of Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar in the northern province of Baghlan were taken by local militia groups last week in one of the first signs of armed resistance to the Taliban since their seizure of the capital Kabul on August 15.
By Monday, Taliban forces had cleared the districts and were established in Badakhshan, Takhar and Andarab near the Panjshir valley, according to the Twitter account of spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid
Responding to the question over Pakistan ties with the Taliban, Afghanistan's pop star Aryana Sayeed said that the Islamist group is being funded by Pakistan.
"They're being instructed by Pakistan, their bases are in Pakistan where they get trained. I hope int'l community, first of all, cut their funds and don’t give funds to Pakistan so that they don’t have enough money to fund Taliban," Aryana said.
"I blame Pakistan. By now, over the yrs, we've seen videos & evidence that Pakistan is behind empowering Taliban. Every time our govt would catch a Talib, they'd see identification & it'd be a Pakistani person, it's very obvious that it's them," the pop star added.
Blaming Pakistan for supporting the Taliban, Aryana further said, "I hope that they back off and don’t interfere in the politics in Afghanistan anymore."
Afghanistan's pop star Aryana Sayeed while speaing to news agency ANI, expressed concerns for the Afghans, specially the women.
"I feel great that I’m out of country right now but my heart goes out to millions of people left behind in Afghanistan, especially women. What they went through 20 yrs ago was unbelievable & now we're back to the same point where we were," Aryana Sayeed said.
She further said, "I'm worried for women who'll be stuck inside houses & they're not going to be given their basic rights like going out on road,they've to have a male with them & they can't go to school. If Afghanistan is left in hands of Taliban, there's no future for Afghan women."
Expressing displeasure over withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, the pop star said, "Superpower countries went there & said that the reason for going there is to get rid of Al Qaeda & Taliban. After being there for 20 yrs & spending millions of dollars, lives of soldiers lost there, suddenly they decided to leave Afghanistan, this is shocking."
"My hope is for int'l community to not forget about Afghanistan, to not forget about Afghan nation because it’s not their fault. They're living in misery now and millions of people in Afghanistan - women & children - don’t deserve what they are going through now," Aryana Sayeed added.
Evacuees flown in from Kabul on an Indian Air Force aircraft chant "Jo bole so nihal Sat Sri Akal" and "Waheguru ji ka Khalsa Waheguru Ji ki Fateh".
A day ahead of a virtual meeting of leaders of the G7 group on Afghanistan, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau left the door open to sanctions on the Taliban, noting that the Islamist group that now controls Afghanistan remains a "terrorist entity."
"Canada already recognizes, and has for long, that the Taliban are terrorists, and harbor terrorists. That's why they're on the terrorist list. So, yes, we can talk about sanctions," Trudeau told reporters.
Trudeau said he was "looking forward to" a conversation "shortly with my fellow G7 leaders as we look at what more we can do."
“At this stage, our primary concern is that Afghans who are seeking safety can reach it, including across borders and into neighbouring countries if needed. UNHCR is calling on countries neighbouring Afghanistan to keep their borders open in light of the intensifying crisis in Afghanistan," Catherine Stubberfield, UNHCR’s regional spokesperson for Asia and the Pacific, said, according to Sputnik.
US President Joe Biden is all set to hold a meeting with the Group of Seven (G7) leaders on Tuesday to discuss evacuation in Afghanistan. This virtual gathering will be the first forum where Biden will be speaking to America’s allies about the fall of Kabul to the Taliban and the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan which has caused apprehension and anger amongst some of the allies.
Background
Afghanistan Crisis LIVE, August 24, Tuesday: The Taliban warned on Monday there would be "consequences" if the United States and its allies extend their presence in Afghanistan beyond next week, as chaos continued to overwhelm Kabul airport with tens of thousands of people still desperate to flee.
To oversee a chaotic airlift of foreigners and Afghans desperate to escape the return of the hardline Islamic regime, thousands of troops have poured back into Afghanistan and pressure is growing on Washington to extend an August 31 withdrawal deadline, reports AFP.
The Taliban were in position near the Panjshir valley and had retaken three districts in northern Afghanistan that fell to local militia groups last week, a spokesman said on Monday, as reported by Reuters.
The districts of Bano, Deh Saleh, Pul e-Hesar in the northern province of Baghlan were taken by local militia groups last week in one of the first signs of armed resistance to the Taliban since their seizure of the capital Kabul on August 15.
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