UNSC Meeting On Afghanistan: Security Council To Meet Under India's Chairmanship Today

UNSC Meeting on Afghanistan: India has the chairmanship of the UN Security Council for the month of August.

Afghan passengers sit as they wait to leave the Kabul airport in Kabul on August 16, 2021 | AFP

New Delhi: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Afghanistan on Monday under the chairmanship of India in view of the Taliban's occupation of Afghanistan. This will be the second meeting of the Security Council in a week. The meeting will begin at 7.30 pm IST.

The long-standing war in Afghanistan took a turning point on Sunday when the Taliban forces entered the capital city Kabul and captured Presidential Palace and President Ashraf Ghani had to leave the country. Taliban fighters also captured Afghanistan's parliament on Monday.

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India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations T S Tirumurthy tweeted, "UN Security Council will meet on Afghanistan issue. There will be a briefing and discussions on Afghanistan on August 16 under the chairmanship of India.''

India has the chairmanship of the UN Security Council for the month of August. A discussion about the situation in Afghanistan took place in the first week.

Amidst the worsening situation in Afghanistan, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the Taliban and other parties to exercise restraint on the Taliban and all other parties in order to save the lives of Afghans and provide humanitarian assistance. 

Meanwhile, a US Foreign Ministry official today said that the US flag has been taken down from the US Embassy in Kabul amid the evacuation of its people from Afghanistan.

The official said almost all embassy officials have been rushed to the city's international airport, where thousands of Americans and others are waiting to board the planes.