LIVE: Taliban ask US to stop evacuating skilled Afghans, says report

Afghanistan's 'acting' President Amrullah Saleh has highlighted the dire 'humanitarian situation' in Andarab valley. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

12:50 AM

G-7 leaders raised concerns about Afghan pullout

European Council President Charles Michel says a number of G-7 leaders raised concerns with U.S. President Joe Biden about the Aug. 31 deadline for getting their nationals and Afghan helpers out of Kabul. Michel says that several leaders expressed concerns about the timing of August 31, during Tuesday's G-7 summit. He declined to tell reporters after the meeting what response Biden gave the leaders.

 

According to an administration official, Biden plans to stick with his deadline for completing the U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan. The decision reflects in part the U.S. military's concern about heightened security threats to the massive airlift that began 10 days ago.

 

Michel says the EU remains concerned about European citizens and Afghan people who worked with them being able to safely reach Kabul airport.

 

Michel says the EU raised this issue with our American friends and partners notably the need to secure the airport, as long as necessary, to complete the operations; and second, a fair and equitable access to the airport, for all nationals entitled to evacuation.

11:29 PM

Joe Biden decides to stick with Aug. 31 final pullout from Kabul

US President Joe Biden has decided not to extend his August 31 deadline for completing the US-led evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies from Afghanistan, an administration official said Tuesday.

 

Biden made the decision after consultation with his national security team. Weighing the risks of keeping forces on the ground beyond the deadline, he opted to complete the mission by next Tuesday, which was the deadline he set well before the Taliban completed its takeover of Afghanistan on August 15.

 

Biden asked his national security team to create contingency plans in case a situation arose for which the deadline needed to be extended slightly, the official said.

9:32 PM

Hardeep Puri targets opposition on CAA after Afghan Sikhs, Hindus brought to India

After a number of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus were brought to India from Afghanistan, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday sought to underline the significance of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and targeted those who had opposed the legislation.

 

Addressing a press conference, the minister said a total of 626 people, including 228 Indian citizens, have been evacuated from Afghanistan till now. The number of Afghan Sikhs, who have been evacuated from Afghanistan, is 77, he said.

 

"Those who were opposing the enactment of the CAA are today demanding that its cut off date should be extended from 2014 to 2021," Puri told reporters without naming anyone.

9:19 PM

At least 10 evacuees from Afghanistan test Covid positive

At least 10 evacuees from Afghanistan tested COVID-19 positive after their arrival at the Indira Gandhi International airport here on Tuesday, according to people coordinating evacuation efforts with the Indian government.

 

An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) official said 81 people, who arrived from Afghanistan on Monday and Tuesday, have been sent to the ITBP's quarantine facility at Chhawla in south-west Delhi.

 

According to an office memorandum issued by the Union Health Ministry on Monday, people arriving from Afghanistan have to undergo a mandatory minimum 14-day institutional quarantine at the ITBP facility.

 

Any person testing positive or detected as symptomatic shall be shifted to dedicated Covid Care Centre or Covid hospital of NCT of Delhi, the memorandum read.

8:58 PM

3 copies of Guru Granth Sahib, 44 Afghan Sikhs flown in from Afghanistan

Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and V Muraleedharan on Tuesday received three copies of Sikh scripture Guru Granth Sahib and 44 Afghan Sikhs who reached India from Kabul via Dushanbe in Tajikistan on a special Air India flight, PTI reported.

The Guru Granth Sahib copies will be taken to Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurdwara in New Mahavir Nagar here, according to people coordinating the evacuation efforts with the Indian government.

"The Afghan Sikhs will stay at a hotel in Karol Bagh till further arrangements are made," said Kanv Bhalla, an entrepreneur coordinating rehabilitation efforts on behalf of New York-based philanthropist Mandeep Singh Sobti.

8:55 PM

EU officials speak on Afghanistan

8:52 PM

At least 10 evacuees from Afghanistan test Covid positive

At least 10 evacuees from Afghanistan tested COVID-19 positive after their arrival at the Indira Gandhi International airport here on Tuesday, according to people coordinating evacuation efforts with the Indian government, PTI reported.

 

An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) official said 81 people, who arrived from Afghanistan on Monday and Tuesday, have been sent to the ITBP's quarantine facility at Chhawla in south-west Delhi.

 

According to an office memorandum issued by the Union Health Ministry on Monday, people arriving from Afghanistan have to undergo a mandatory minimum 14-day institutional quarantine at the ITBP facility.

8:29 PM

Taliban says no evacuation extension as G7 meets on Afghan crisis

Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers said on Tuesday they wanted all foreign evacuations from the country completed by an Aug. 31 deadline and they would not agree to an extension, Reuters reported.

8:04 PM

Afghan airlift records best day yet: 20,000-plus flown out

The US military on Tuesday pulled off its biggest day of evacuation flights from Afghanistan since the operation began. But deadly violence that has blocked many desperate evacuees from entering Kabul's airport persisted, and the Taliban signaled they might soon seek to shut down the airlifts, AP reported.

Amid the tense operation to get people out of the country, CIA Director William Burns secretly swooped into Kabul on Monday to meet with the Taliban's top political leader, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.

About 21,600 people were flown safely out of Taliban-held Afghanistan in the 24-hour period that ended early Tuesday, the White House said. That compares with about 16,000 the previous day.

8:03 PM

Some Afghans vow to resist Taliban from mountain enclave

In a mountain valley north of Kabul, the last remnants of Afghanistan's shattered security forces have vowed to resist the Taliban in a remote region that has defied conquerors before. But any attempt to reenact that history could end in tragedy or farce, AP reported.

Nestled in the towering Hindu Kush, the Panjshir Valley has a single narrow entrance and is the last region not under Taliban control following their stunning blitz across Afghanistan. Local fighters held off the Soviets in the 1980s and the Taliban a decade later under the leadership of Ahmad Shah Massoud, a guerrilla fighter who attained near-mythic status before he was killed in a suicide bombing.

7:40 PM

Afghan evacuation on 'war footing' as G7 meets on pullout deadline

Western troops at Kabul airport worked frantically on Tuesday to evacuate people from Afghanistan before an Aug. 31 deadline as U.S. President Joe Biden faced growing pressure to negotiate more time for the airlift of thousands trying to flee, Reuters reported.

7:39 PM

US must complete evacuation of people by August 31: Taliban spokesman

7:32 PM

Female Afghan govt workers asked to stay home until security allows

7:04 PM

Russia says it and others ready to mediate in Afghanistan

Russia, China, the United States and Pakistan are interested in serving as mediators in resolving the crisis in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

7:03 PM

US should not encourage Afghan elite to leave: Taliban

6:18 PM

Airbnb vows free housing for 20,000 Afghan refugees globally

Airbnb offered free housing to 20,000 Afghan refugees globally on Tuesday and sought more assistance from hosts who rent property through the home-sharing company, AP reported.

The displacement and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the U.S. and elsewhere is one of the biggest humanitarian crises of our time. We feel a responsibility to step up," said CEO Brian Chesky on Twitter. I hope this inspires other business leaders to do the same. There's no time to waste."

6:09 PM

UN rights chief says she has credible reports of Taliban executions

5:54 PM

China hits out at US over Afghan withdrawal

Hitting out at the US for its withdrawal from Afghanistan, China accused Washington of having "selfish" foreign policy priorities, IANS reported.

It said that the US had used the rhetoric of a rules-based global order to defend its own "bullying, hegemonic behaviour", reports the BBC.

"The US can wantonly conduct military intervention in a sovereign country and does not need to be responsible for the suffering of the people in that country," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a press briefing.

 

5:53 PM

No athletes, but Afghanistan flag included in Paralympic Games opening ceremony

Though their home-based athletes and representatives could not make it to Tokyo for the Paralympic Games, Afghanistan's flag was carried as part of the Opening Ceremony parade here on Tuesday, IANS reported.

Zakia Khudadadi, who is the first female athlete from Afghanistan to qualify for the Paralympic Games in taekwondo, and some National Paralympic Committee (NPC) officials could not make it to the Games because of the chaos in the country after the Taliban ousted the elected government and took control of the country. Flights to and from the country are not operational following the regime change and that was one of the reasons why the team could not make it to Tokyo.

5:51 PM

G-7 grapples with Afghanistan, an afterthought not long ago

Two months ago, the leaders of the world's seven major industrialised democracies met at the height of summer on England's southwest coast. It was a happy occasion: the first in-person summit of the Group of Seven nations in two years due to the coronavirus pandemic and the welcomed appearance of President Joe Biden and his America is back message on matters ranging from comity to COVID-19 to climate change, AP reported.

The smiles and sunshine seem distant as G-7 leaders meet again Tuesday, in virtual format, for crisis talks on Afghanistan. The country's burgeoning refugee crisis, the collapse of its government and fears of a resurgence in Afghan-based terrorism have left the G-7 allies scrambling and threaten the unity of the bloc.

5:16 PM

Afghanistan's disintegrating economy puts pressure on Taliban

No longer facing serious military opposition, Afghanistans new Taliban rulers are grappling with a new threat: An economic collapse that could fuel renewed challenges to their rule and has already put pressure on them to share power, IANS reported.

There has been no legitimate government in Afghanistan since President Ashraf Ghani and most of his ministers escaped from Kabul on August 15. In the eight days since then, banks and money exchanges have remained shut and prices for basic commodities have surged. Economic activity has ground to a halt, the Wall Street Journal reported.

5:15 PM

Ahead of G7 leaders meet on Afghanistan, China says sanctions against Taliban not productive

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, PTI reported.

 

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.

5:01 PM

WHO says it only has medical supplies in Afghanistan for a week

The World Health Organization has enough supplies in Afghanistan to last for only one week, a senior regional official said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The WHO also cited concerns about the possibility of increasing COVID-19 infections in the region

4:35 PM

Women soccer players leave Afghanistan on evacuation flight

Players from Afghanistan women's national soccer team had an important victory on Tuesday when they were among a group of more than 75 people evacuated on a flight from Kabul, AP reported.

Global soccer players' union FIFPRO thanked the Australian government for making the evacuation of players, team officials and family members possible, with work continuing to help more leave Afghanistan.

"These young women, both as athletes and activists, have been in a position of danger and on behalf of their peers around the world we thank the international community for coming to their aid," the union said in a statement.

4:34 PM

Women have no future under Taliban regime, says Afghan pop star Aryana Sayeed

Afghanistan's famous pop singer Aryana Sayeed on Tuesday said that there is "no future of women under Taliban" after the terrorist outfit took control of the country last week, ANI reported.

In an exclusive interview with ANI from an undisclosed location, she said that the Afghan women will suffer the most under the Taliban regime.

"I am worried for women who will be stuck inside houses and they will not be given their basic rights. While out, they will need to have a male relative accompanying them. They also will not be allowed to go to school. If Afghanistan is left in hands of the Taliban, there's no future for Afghan women," Sayeed said.

4:25 PM

626 people including 228 Indian citizens evacuated from Afghanistan so far: Hardeep Singh Puri

3:58 PM

US scraps plan to use S.Korea, Japan military bases for Afghan refugees: report

The United States has decided against the idea of using its largest overseas military bases in South Korea and Japan to house Afghan refugees temporarily, two sources with close knowledge of the matter told Reuters, Reuters reported.

3:57 PM

China says US army must be held accountable for Afghanistan actions

China's envoy to the U.N. in Geneva said on Tuesday that the U.S. army and the militaries of other coalition partners should be held accountable for alleged rights violations they committed in Afghanistan, Reuters reported.

3:55 PM

Spain warns it will not be able to evacuate all Afghans who served in Spanish missions

3:54 PM

Grave humanitarian crisis is unfolding, says India at UNHRC