Budget 2018-19

  Modi and Putin emphasised the central role of the UN in Afghanistan India and Russia on Monday underlined that the Afghan soil should not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing any terrorist groups including the ISIS, the Al-Qaeda and the  Lashkar-e-Taiba  (LeT), and decided to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. In their summit talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin also pitched for the formation of a truly inclusive government in Kabul and reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan, according to a joint statement. The mentioning of LeT in the statement assumes significance as it reflects Russia’s understanding of India’s concerns over the possible risk that the Pakistan-based terror groups pose after the Taliban’s capture of power in Kabul. The statement said the leaders welcomed the close coordination between India and Russia on Afghanistan, including thr...

  The Pentagon official said Indians want to work with the US on this issue, by sharing intelligence and cooperating India is concerned about the current situation in  Afghanistan , a top Pentagon official has told US lawmakers here. “As I’m sure you’re aware, they (Indians) are concerned about the situation in Afghanistan. They’re concerned about the intersection between instability there and their counterterrorism concerns,” Colin H Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Afghanistan, South and Central Asia Security. “They (Indians) want to work with us on those issues, sharing intelligence, cooperating where we can,” he said, adding that there is a tremendous convergence between US and Indian national interests right now “It provides a lot of opportunity for us to cooperate with India, not just on Afghanistan and counterterrorism, but on broader regional security questions, in the Indian Ocean and ...

  Pakistan’s western front continues to remain unstable and it fishing in troubled waters of Afghanistan, General M M Naravane said Pakistan’s western front continues to remain unstable and it fishing in troubled waters of  Afghanistan  is going to come and bite it in the future, Army Chief General M M Naravane said on Thursday. Without naming Pakistan, he said the infiltration bids and terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have increased during the last two and half months and these “activities” are being sponsored by “our western neighbour”. When asked at a defence conclave if Pakistan can now concentrate more of its assets towards India as it sees its western front with Afghanistan under its control, Naravane replied: “I think it is too early to draw that conclusion.” “I think their western front is equally if not more unstable. I think it is going to come and bite them, whatever they have been fishing in the troubled waters. It is going to bite them and they will rea...

  The Taliban’s cruelties are horrendous, but withholding international support and maintaining blanket sanctions will only hurt the long-suffering Afghan people. Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation is spiraling into catastrophe. Millions of Afghans are now facing severe economic stress and food insecurity in the wake of the Taliban’s August takeover, set off by widespread lost income, cash shortages, and rising food costs. Officials with the UN and several foreign governments are warning of an economic collapse and risks of worsening acute malnutrition and outright famine. Surveys by the World Food Program (WFP) reveal over nine in ten Afghan families have insufficient food for daily consumption, half stating they have run out of food at least once in the last two weeks. One in three Afghans is already acutely hungry. Other United Nations reports warn that over 1 million more children could face acute malnutrition in the coming year. One main cause of the crisis is that governmen...

  Pakistan has seen 35 attacks that left at least 52 civilians dead in August, the highest since February 2017, according to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal Deadly terrorist attacks in  Pakistan  have increased to the highest level in over four years as U.S. troops left Afghanistan and the Taliban took power, a sign of growing instability in the region that could hurt business and investments. Pakistan has seen 35 attacks that left at least 52 civilians dead in August, the highest since February 2017, according to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal. Most of the violence has been attributed to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an offshoot of the Afghan militant group that has been encouraged by developments next door. The Pakistani militant group “has been emboldened further by what happened in Afghanistan,” Umar Karim, a visiting fellow at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said over the phone. “The terrorist group had already been ...

  Khan said thousands of Pakistanis were killed because the Taliban and its affiliates saw them as an ally of the US Pakistan Prime Minister  Imran Khan  has said the US war against terrorism was “disastrous” for Pakistan as Washington used Islamabad like a “hired gun” during their 20-year presence in Afghanistan. “We (Pakistan) were like a hired gun,” Khan said in an interview with CNN. “We were supposed to make them (the US) win the war in Afghanistan, which we never could.” Khan said that the US’ invasion of Afghanistan proved to be “disastrous” for Pakistan. He said thousands of Pakistanis were killed because the Taliban and its affiliates saw them as an ally of the US. “The Taliban hold all of  Afghanistan  and if they can sort of now work towards an inclusive government, get all the factions together, Afghanistan could have peace after 40 years. But if it goes wrong and which is what we are really worried about, it could go to chaos. The biggest humanitari...

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the international community must engage with the Taliban and “incentivise” them on issues such as women’s rights and an inclusive Afghan government Pakistan Prime Minister  Imran Khan  has said the international community must engage with the Taliban and “incentivise” them on issues such as women’s rights and an inclusive Afghan government to prevent the conflict-torn nation from ending up in chaos. Speaking to CNN from his private Bani Gala residence in Islamabad on Wednesday, Khan said that Afghanistan was on a historic crossroads. He asserted that the best way forward for peace and stability in the war-torn country is to engage with the Taliban, which seized Kabul last month. “The Taliban hold all of Afghanistan and if they can sort of now work towards an inclusive government, get all the factions together,   Afghanistan   could have peace after 40 years,” he said. “But if it goes wrong (in Afghanistan), and which is wha...

  Australia’s SBS TV has quoted a Taliban spokesperson as saying that women’s sports and women’s cricket specifically will be banned by his group in Afghanistan Australia’s SBS TV has quoted a  Taliban  spokesperson as saying that women’s sports and women’s cricket specifically will be banned by his group in Afghanistan “In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this,” the network quoted Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, as saying. “It is the media era, and there will be photos and videos, and then people watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed.” Wasiq last month told SBS that the Taliban would allow men’s cricket to continue and that it has given approval for the men’s national team to travel to Australia for a test match in November. But in a state...

  United States says concerned by some Cabinet members The Taliban drew from its inner high echelons to fill top posts in Afghanistan’s new government on Tuesday, including an associate of the Islamist militant group’s founder as premier and a wanted man on a U.S. terrorism list as interior minister. World powers have told the Taliban the key to peace and development is an inclusive government that would back up its pledges of a more conciliatory approach, upholding human rights, after a previous 1996-2001 period in power marked by bloody vendettas and oppression of women. Taliban supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, in his first public statement since the Aug. 15 seizure of the capital Kabul by the insurgents, said the  Taliban  were committed to all international laws, treaties and commitments not in conflict with Islamic law. “In the future, all matters of governance and life in Afghanistan will be regulated by the laws of the Holy Sharia,” he said in a statement, in...

  However, Massoud remained defiant and said his force, drawn from the remnants of the regular Afghan army as well as local militia fighters, was still fighting The Taliban claimed victory on Monday in the last part of Afghanistan still holding out against their rule, declaring that the capture of the Panjshir valley completed their takeover of the country and they would unveil a new government soon. Pictures on social media showed Taliban members standing in front of the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s compound after days of fighting with the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRFA), commanded by Panjshiri leader Ahmad Massoud. “Panjshir, which was the last hideout of the escapee enemy, is captured,”  T aliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference. However, Massoud remained defiant, and said his force, drawn from the remnants of the regular Afghan army as well as local militia fighters, was still fig...

  The Taliban will be on uncertain ground as they declare legitimacy, but no pretender to Afghanistan’s troubled throne is likely to offer a national alternative Unsurprisingly, the Taliban’s rapid takeover of power across  Afghanistan  has prompted headlines about a renewed “civil war”. This is misleading, however. “Civil war” implies a situation where an insurgent movement is taking on a ruling government. But in 2001, it was not just the US-backed Northern Alliance that removed the Taliban from Kabul – other local commanders and political leaders were challenging their authority too. And in 2021, the Taliban swept to power by offering local groups incentives to cooperate or persuading them to stand aside. Now that the Taliban try to establish a government and ruling institutions, it is possible that these groups may resist being co-opted. They may bristle at a lack of autonomy, or see political and economic benefit in opposition to th...

  Efforts on to resume operations at Kabul airport Afghan crisis:  Taliban and Afghan rebels loyal to local leader Ahmad Massoud claimed heavy casualties in heavy fighting in the Panjshir Valley, with some media reports suggesting 13 Taliban fighters were ambushed on Thursday. Panjshir is the last Afghan province resisting rule by the Taliban, which took control of the country two weeks ago by overthrowing the Western-backed government as the US and other foreign troops withdrew after 20 years. According to certain media reports, more than 300 fighters from both sides lost their lives during the fighting over the past few days, as the Northern Resistance Front refused to give up despite being surrounded by the Taliban from all sides. “We started operations after negotiations with the local armed group failed,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Taliban fighters had entered Panjshir and taken control of some territory, he said. “They (the enemy)...

  The Islamist movement’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, is expected to have ultimate power over a governing council, with a president below him, a senior Taliban official said last month Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers were preparing on Thursday to unveil their new government as the economy teetered on the edge of collapse more than two weeks after the Islamist militia captured  Kabul  and brought a chaotic end to 20 years of war. Taliban official Ahmadullah Muttaqi said on social media a ceremony was being prepared at the presidential palace in Kabul, while private broadcaster Tolo said an announcement on a new government was imminent. The Islamist movement’s supreme leader, Haibatullah Akhundzada, is expected to have ultimate power over a governing council here, with a president below him, a senior Taliban official told Reuters last month. The legitimacy of the new government in the eyes of international donors and investors will be crucial for Afghanistan’s econ...

  In the aftermath of the  Taliban  regaining power in Afghanistan, a former senior American diploma Nikki Haley t has said there is a need to closely watch China In the aftermath of the Taliban regaining power in Afghanistan, a former senior American diplomat has said there is a need to closely watch China as it is making a move to take over the Bagram air force base that was controlled by the United States for nearly two decades. America’s former envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley told Fox News on Wednesday that it is time that President Joe Biden’s administration reaches out to its key friends and allies like India, Japan and Australia and assure them that the US will have their back. The first thing you should do is immediately start connecting with our allies, whether it’s Taiwan, whether it’s Ukraine, whether it’s Israel, whether it’s India, Australia, Japan, all of them, and reassure them that we will have their back and that we need them as well,  Nikki ...

  Consultations on forming an inclusive Afghan govt end in ‘consensus’ The  Taliban  and other Afghan leaders have reached a “consensus” on the formation of a new government and cabinet under the leadership of the group’s top spiritual leader, an official said. Taliban supreme commander  Haibatullah Akhundzada  will be the top leader of any governing council, Bilal Karimi, a member of the group’s cultural commission said Wednesday. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of Akhundzada’s three deputies and the main public face of the Taliban, is likely to be in charge of the daily functioning of the government, Karimi added. “The consultations on forming an inclusive Afghan government within the Islamic Emirate’s leaders, with the leaders from previous government and other influential leaders have officially ended,” Karimi said. “They have reached a consensus. We’re about to announce a functioning cabinet and government in a few days, not weeks. The  Taliban  h...

  The UK is reportedly in talks with the Taliban over furthering the evacuation process and securing a safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals and Afghans who remain there Afghanistan Crisis : The UK is reportedly in talks with the Taliban over furthering the evacuation process and securing a safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals and Afghans who remain there. “The Prime Minister’s special representative for Afghan transition, Simon Gass, has travelled to Doha and is meeting with senior Taliban representatives to underline the importance of safe passage out of Afghanistan for British nationals, and those Afghans who have worked with us over the past 20 years,” the BBC quoted a government spokesman as saying. It comes after a  Taliban  pledge to allow further departures. As per an official statement by the UK government, over 17,000 people had been evacuated by the UK from Afghanistan so far, including over 5,000 UK nationals. Meanwhile, on Tue...

  There are nearly 10 million children in Afghanistan “in desperate need of humanitarian aid”, said UNICEF Afghanistan Representative, adding these children are deprived of right to a healthy childhood There are nearly 10 million children in  Afghanistan  “in desperate need of humanitarian aid”, said UNICEF Afghanistan Representative, Herve Ludovic De Lys, adding that these children are deprived of their right to a healthy and protected childhood. “Those least responsible for this crisis, are paying the highest price — including the children killed and injured in a series of atrocities in Kabul since last Thursday”, the senior UN Children’s Fund official told correspondents. “Again, today, I heard of more unsettling reports – of unaccompanied children across the country…more reports of grave violations, including children being recruited by armed groups…All this in a year in which more than 550 children have been killed, and more than 1400 injured.” He said that against a...

  The last US troops are due to pull out of Kabul by Tuesday, after they and their allies mounted the biggest air evacuation in history, bringing out 114,000 of their own citizens and Afghans US anti-missile defences intercepted rockets fired at  Kabul airport  early on Monday, as the United States flew its core diplomats out of Afghanistan in the final hours of its chaotic withdrawal. The last US troops are due to pull out of Kabul by Tuesday, after they and their allies mounted the biggest air evacuation in history, bringing out 114,000 of their own citizens and Afghans who helped them over 20 years of war. Two US officials said the “core” diplomatic staff had withdrawn by Monday morning. They did not say whether this included top envoy Ross Wilson, expected to be among the last to leave before the final troops themselves. A US official said initial reports did not indicate any US casualties from as many as five missiles fired on the airport. Islamic State — enemies of ...

  Twelve of the 13 US service members killed in the August 26 Kabul airport bombing were “9/11 babies”, according to media reports Twelve of the 13 US service members killed in the August 26 Kabul airport bombing were “9/11 babies”, according to media reports. The Pentagon released their names and biographies on August 28. The victims, mostly aged from 20 to 25 years old, were born within a few years of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, which led the US to launch two lengthy and painful wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Xinhua news agency reported. “They never knew a US that was not at war, never lived in the world before the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration, a country without ID checks in office buildings, metal detectors at schools, shoes X-rayed at the airport,” said a Washington Post report on Sunday. “Our generation of Marines has been listening to the Iraq/Afghan vets tell their war stories for years,” Mallory Harrison, a f...

  The Taliban wants to maintain Afghanistan’s trade, economic and political relations with India, senior leader Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai said while describing it’s an important nation in the region The Taliban wants to maintain Afghanistan’s trade, economic and political relations with India, senior leader of the outfit Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai has said while describing it as an important country in the region. In a video address in Pashto, Stanekzai said consultations with various groups and political parties are going on to form a government in  Kabul  that will have representations from people from “different walks of life”. “We attach great importance to our trade, economic and political relations with India and want to maintain that relation,” Stanekzai said on Saturday. “We also need to keep the air trade open,” he was quoted as saying by Pakistani media outlet Independent Urdu. The Taliban leader was referring to the air corridor between India and Afghani...