Afghanistan Crisis LIVE: Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah Asks Centre Whether It Considers Taliban A Terror Organisation
Afghanistan Taliban Crisis LIVE: For all the latest developments in the Afghanistan-Taliban crisis and the situation created around it follow ABP News LIVE blog to stay updated.
A day after India officially talked to the Taliban, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday asked the Union government to clarify whether or not it considered the outfit a terror organisation.
"Either Taliban is a terror organisation or it is not. Please clarify to us how you (GoI) see the Taliban," the National Conference vice president told reporters after an Indian representative in Doha met a Taliban leader on Tuesday.
Taliban approve Afghanistan's first Test match ever since it took over the country, news agency AFP quoted Afghanistan Cricket Board as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the United States' involvement in Afghanistan, charging that its 20-year-long military presence in the country has achieved zero.
Putin said on Wednesday that for 20 years, the U.S. military in Afghanistan was trying ... to civilize the people who live there, to introduce their norms and standards of life in the broadest sense of the word, including the political organization of society.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke to his British counterpart Dominic Raab on Wednesday on the situation in Afghanistan, their second such conversation in a week.
India has been in constant touch with all major countries on the fast-paced developments in Afghanistan, particularly after the Taliban took control of the country on August 15.
"Nice speaking again to UK Foreign Secretary @DominicRaab. Conversation focused on Afghanistan-related developments," Jaishankar tweeted.
A Qatari aircraft landed in Kabul on Wednesday carrying a technical team to discuss the resumption of airport operations after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, according to a source with knowledge of the matter Kabul airport.
Amir Khan Mutaqi, a Taliban leader, sent a recorded message to the Panjshir people asking them to join the Islamic Emirate. According to Mutaqi, talks were held to solve Panjshir's problems, but so far there have been no results.
Muttaqi said there are people (from the resistance front) in Panjshir who want to fight, and he asked the Panjshir people to convince them to find a peaceful solution. He said the Taliban still wants to solve the issue peacefully.
Taliban supporters paraded coffins draped with American and NATO flags in the eastern city of Khost on Tuesday, part of celebrations across the country following the withdrawal of the last US troops. The mock funeral, in which coffins covered in French and British flags were also carried along the street through a large crowd, marked the end of a 20-year war and a hasty and humiliating exit for Washington and its NATO allies.
Qatar has urged the Taliban to ensure 'safe passage' for people leaving Afghanistan, reports AFP.
Chancellor Angela Merkel has stressed that Germany is focused on humanitarian aid now and on helping former local Afghan staffers who were not evacuated in the last two weeks. Merkel said their numbers are not 300" but between 10,000 to 40,000. Germany has evacuated more than 5,000 people from Afghanistan this month, the majority of them Afghans.
There is growing concern among Pakistani officials about security in neighbouring Afghanistan, as the Taliban tries to form a government and stabilise the country following the departure of U.S. and other foreign forces. Islamabad is particularly worried about militant fighters from a separate, Pakistani Taliban group crossing from Afghanistan and launching lethal attacks on its territory. Thousands of Pakistanis have been killed in jihadist violence in the last two decades, reports AFP.
In the past two decades, Afghanistan became a focus for the world and 36 countries opened their embassies in Kabul. In return, Afghanistan opened 71 embassies and general consulates in those countries.
Currently, most of these countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, have suspended their diplomatic presence in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Taliban has called on nations, especially the United States, to resume diplomatic relations with Afghanistan, according to TOLOnews
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said they expect the United States to restart its diplomatic mission in Kabul.
“America should have only a diplomatic presence in Kabul. We have communication channels with them and we expect them to reopen their embassy in Kabul and we also want to have trade relations with them,” Mujahid said.
Ambassador of India to Qatar, Deepak Mittal on Tuesday met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, the Head of Taliban’s Political Office in Doha to discuss on safety, security and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan.
During the meeting, Mittal raised India’s concern that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used for anti-Indian activities and terrorism in any manner. The Taliban Representative assured the Ambassador that these issues would be positively addressed, news agency ANI quoted Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as saying.
A day after the last remaining troops of the United States left Afghanistan, the Pentagon on Tuesday said that it will continue to conduct drone strikes against the Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) and other terrorist groups operating within the South Asian nation, reported the Fox News.
Background
Afghanistan Taliban Crisis LIVE: India on Tuesday, for the first time held diplomatic talks with the Taliban which has taken control of Afghanistan in the past few days following the withdrawal of US forces from there. An Indian envoy met a leader of the terrorist group in Doha, Qatar's capital. The meeting took place following a request by the new rulers of the strife-hit country, reports PTI.
Ambassador Deepak Mittal, India's envoy to Qatar, met Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, Head of Taliban's Political Office in that country, according to a press release from the Ministry of External Affairs. They met at the Indian Embassy in Doha, the statement said.
The hardline Islamist Taliban celebrated their total return to power on Tuesday with gunfire and diplomacy, after the last US troops flew out of Afghanistan to end two decades of war.
Taliban fighters then quickly swept into the airport and fired weapons into the sky across the city in jubilation -- an astonishing return after US forces invaded in 2001 and toppled them for supporting Al-Qaeda.
However the Taliban have repeatedly promised a more tolerant and open brand of rule compared with their first stint in power, and Mujahid continued that theme.
"We want to have good relations with the US and the world. We welcome good diplomatic relations with them all," he said.
The UN Security Council, under India's Presidency, adopted a strong resolution demanding that territory of Afghanistan not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists and that it expects the Taliban will adhere to commitments made by it regarding the safe and orderly departure from the country of Afghans and all foreign nationals.
Mujahid also insisted Taliban security forces would "be gentle and nice".
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