Biden says cannot guarantee ‘final outcome’ of risky Kabul evacuation

Since the Taliban pushed their attack on Kabul, US officials say they have evacuated around 13000 individuals, causing chaos at the capital’s airports as Afghans and Americans tried desperately to board aircraft out of the beleaguered country. 

As he confronts a barrage of criticism for his management of the US departure, US President Biden spoke on Friday about the effort to evacuate American people and Afghan friends from Afghanistan in the face of the Taliban’s takeover. 

Highlights of the speech of US President:

• The Kabul evacuation was among ‘largest and most difficult airlifts in history.
• The US has airlifted 13,000 people out of Kabul since Aug 14.
• Biden says cannot guarantee ‘final outcome’ of risky Kabul evacuation.
• US allies do not raise the ‘question of our credibility’.
• Cannot guarantee ‘final outcome’ of risky Kabul evacuation.

Afghans in danger ‘have no clear way out’: UN: Spokesperson of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Shabia Mantoo reiterated the UN’s call to neighbor countries of Afghanistan to keep their borders open to allow people to seek asylum. She called the situation in Afghanistan an “evolving crisis”.

Taliban ‘intensifying’ door-to-door search for Afghans who helped the US, claims UN document

• The Taliban is intensifying a search for people who worked with the US and NATO forces, a confidential United Nations document says, despite the militants vowing no revenge against opponents.
• The report, provided by the UN’s threat-assessment consultants and seen by AFP – says the group has “priority lists” of individuals it wants to arrest.
• Taliban now controls Afghanistan, this is no secret to the world. Despite the longest war the United States has ever waged, the group seized control of the country with ease. 
• In the wake of the panic and fear affecting the streets of the Afghan capital, some heart-breaking videos have emerged on social media. 

Chinese Embassy in Pakistan condemns Balochistan attack, demands thorough investigation 

• In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan strongly condemned the suicide attack on the Gwadar Eastbay Expressway Project, where at least 3 people were killed, including two children, and two more were injured.
• It has demanded Pakistan to properly treat the wounded, conduct a thorough investigation on the attack and severely punish the perpetrators 
• Pakistan’s interior ministry said “an explosion targetted a convoy of vehicles carrying Chinese nationals on the Gwadar East Bay Expressway project in Balochistan on Fri evening. The wounded have been sent to a hospital in Gwadar for treatment.”
• According to the report, the bomb targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers at the building site of a road that is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The US freezes nearly $9.5bn of Afghan reserves to block Taliban access to funds: The undeclared action was first reported by The Washington Post on Tue. The Post reported that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and personnel at the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had decided to freeze the accounts.

• According to the report, the US State Department was consulted before the action as was the White House, adding that the Biden administration was contemplating other actions as well to pressure the Taliban.
• It pointed out that the Biden administration did not need new authority to freeze the reserves because the Taliban were already under sanctions from an executive order approved after the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
• Washington also stopped shipments of cash to Kabul as part of an effort to prevent a Taliban-led Govt from accessing money, according to a Bloomberg report

India’s midnight evacuation from Afghanistan, escorted by Taliban: Al Jazeera

The embassy decided to ask the Taliban to shepherd Indians when its fighters closed access to the once heavily fortified neighborhood.

• Outside the main iron gate of the Indian embassy in Kabul, a group of Taliban fighters waited, armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Their position was a precarious one.
• Pakistan has long been the Taliban’s biggest supporter, using the country for so-called “strategic depth” in never-ending battles – real and diplomatic – with archrival India.
• India, in turn, strongly backed the govt that took over when the Taliban was removed, earning them hatred and enmity from the hardline group.
• But the Taliban fighters outside the Indian embassy were not there to exact revenge but rather to escort them to Kabul airport, where a military aircraft was on standby to evacuate them after New Delhi decided to shut its mission.
• As the first of nearly two dozen vehicles drove out of the embassy late on Mon, some of the fighters waved and smiled at the passengers, an AFP news agency correspondent among them.
• One guided them towards the street leading out of the city’s green zone and on the main road to the airport.

A member of Ex-Afghan President Karzai meets Taliban faction chief

• A Taliban commander and senior leader of the Haqqani Network militant group, Anas Haqqani, has met former Afghan President Hamid Karzai for talks, a Taliban official said on Wed, amid efforts by the Taliban to set up a govt.
• Karzai was accompanied by the old govt’s main peace envoy, Abdullah Abdullah, in the meeting, said the Taliban official. The Haqqani Network is an important faction of the Taliban, who captured the capital, Kabul, on Sun.
• The Taliban’s political office, Anas Haqqani, has met former Afghan president Hamid Karzai for talks, TOLOnews reported citing sources on Wed.
• Karzai was accompanied by Abdullah Abdullah, head of the Afghan National Reconciliation Council, in the meeting.

The US froze nearly $9.5bn of Afghan reserves to block Taliban access to funds

• The undeclared action was first reported by The Washington Post on Tue, which claimed that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and personnel at the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had decided to freeze the accounts.
• “Any central bank assets the Afghan govt have in the United States will not be made available to the Taliban,” an administration official told the newspaper in a statement.
• According to the report, the US State Department was consulted before the action as was the White House, adding that the Biden administration was contemplating other actions as well to pressure the Taliban.

big thing: System failure: Axios

The Taliban’s lightning seizure of Afghanistan’s capital yesterday exposed stunning failures of American intelligence, imagination, and execution that will be studied as long as people study history.

• The US was literally run out of town after 20 years, $1 trillion, and 2,448 service members’ lives lost.
• Mohammad Naeem, the spokesman for the Taliban’s political office, told Al Jazeera today: “Thanks to God, the war is over in the country.”

Why it matters: A friend who spent more than a decade as a U.S. official in Afghanistan and Iraq texted me that the collapse “shows we missed something fundamental — something systemic in our intel, military and diplomatic service over the decades — deeper than a single (horrible) decision.”

• As the BBC’s Jon Sopel put it: “America’s attempt to export liberal democracy to Afghanistan is well and truly over. America’s effort to build a civil society in Kabul and beyond — also in tatters.”

The big picture: The Taliban triumph “sparked global alarm, reviving doubts about the credibility of U.S. foreign policy promises and drawing harsh criticisms even from some of the United States’ closest allies,” The Washington Post’s Liz Sly reported from London.

• “[C]oncerns grew that the unfolding chaos could create a haven for terrorists, unleash a major humanitarian disaster and trigger a new refugee exodus.”

President Biden got, as The New York Times’s David E. Sanger notes in a front-page story, the “Images of Defeat He Wanted to Avoid.”

• Secretary of State Tony Blinken, rejecting comparisons to America’s helicopter airlift out of the Vietnamese capital in 1975, said on ABC: “This is manifestly not Saigon.” And on CNN: “Remember, this is not Saigon.”
• But Kimberley Motley, an international human-rights attorney who has worked on Afghanistan issues for 13 years and was desperately trying to help Afghans get out of the country, told The Wall Street Journal: “This is like Saigon on steroids.”

PM Modi chairs Cabinet meet on Afghan crisis, NSA Doval, Foreign Secretary Shringla present

• India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon, who was brought back from the embassy in Kabul along with other diplomats Tue, was also present in the meeting.
• Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the meeting, besides senior officials.
• ThePrint reported citing sources that those present in the meeting also included National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, as also India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Rudrendra Tandon, who returned to India on Tue itself.
• While official sources confirmed the meeting, but there was no word on what transpired there.
• India has brought back the Indian ambassador and all staff members from its embassy in Kabul in two military transport aircraft in the wake of escalating tension and deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital after its takeover by the Taliban.

India has a very important role to play in dealing with the Afghan crisis, said the UK

• India as a key partner of the UK in the region and chair of the United Nations Sanctions Committee will have a very important role to play in dealing with the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan with the takeover of the Taliban, the UK govt said on Tue.
• Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the way forward would involve the creation of some form of international “contact group” to ensure Afghanistan can never be used to launch terrorist attacks against the UK or its allies.
• About actions planned in dealing with the Taliban regime, he added: Through concerted coordination on things like sanctions. India is very important in the UN, it chairs the Sanctions Committee.

127 people including 118 Nepalis return to Kathmandu from Afghanistan

• A total of 127 people landed at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu on Tue. These people, which include 118 Nepalis and 9 Indians, were evacuated to Kuwait from Afghanistan on Mon.
• Brig Gen Santosh Ballave Poudyal, spokesperson, Nepali Army confirmed WION that all evacuees have been taken to an isolation center in Kathmandu and COVID protocols will be followed.
• The Manpower Association in Kathmandu claims that there are about 15,000 Nepalis in Afghanistan, while the government has a record of only 1,500.  
• A special US Air force flight took 385 Nepalis working at the US embassy to Doha on Sun.

US president Biden pins blame for Afghanistan’s debacle on Ghani govt: In a much-awaited televised address from the White House, US President Joe Biden suggested that they lacked the will to stand up to the Taliban. After several days of silence on the momentous developments, Biden said, “The truth is, this did unfold more quickly than we had anticipated.” The president also passed scathing criticism on now-ousted Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who he said ignored his advice on greater unity among leaders and the pursuit of a diplomatic solution

Intelligence warned of Afghan military collapse, despite Biden’s assurances: By July, many intelligence reports grew more pessimistic, questioning whether any Afghan security forces would muster serious resistance and whether the government could hold on in Kabul, the capital. Biden said on July 8 that the Afghan government was unlikely to fall and that there would be no chaotic evacuations of Americans similar to the end of the Vietnam War

Turkey welcomes ‘positive messages’ from Taliban, says in talks with the group: Turkey has been talking to Taliban leaders on a range of issues in the past few months, including its offer to protect Kabul’s airport following the US troop withdrawal

Guantanamo ex-inmates emerge as key players in Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan

• In the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan against the govt, it seems former inmates of Guantanamo have played a crucial role.
• One of the Taliban leaders, who gave a victory speech from the presidential palace, described himself as a former inmate of Guantanamo, while another detainee in the infamous prison is also emerging as a key figure in the regime change.
• The first prisoner, who is presently a commander of the Taliban, gave the address live-streamed by Al-Jazeera news channel from inside the presidential palace in Kabul.
• He said he had spent eight years in the US Navy-controlled detention center in Guantanamo Bay.
• According to experts, the name of the commander is Gholam Ruhani, who was accused by the US of being a security agent for the Taliban’s Ministry of Intelligence with close family ties to the senior members of the group, a Daily Mail report said.

China warns Taliban against Afghanistan once again becoming ‘haven’ for terrorists

• Not harboring terrorists is the bottom line that must be held firmly for any future political solution in Afghanistan, said China at an emergency UNSC meeting Mon.
• Hours after expressing hope that the Taliban will form an “open and inclusive” Islamic govt and ensure a smooth transition in Afghanistan, China has warned the Afghan militant group against the country once again becoming a “haven” for terrorists.
• The remarks by China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, came during an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan on Monday after the sudden and rapid takeover of the Afghanistan government by the Taliban insurgents.
• The former Trump administration had removed the group from the US’ list of terrorist organizations in 2020 amid allegations of human rights violations against Uygur Muslims by China in Xinjiang, including interning thousands of them in mass detention centers, which Beijing terms as education camps.
• The US has termed China’s security crackdown in Xinjiang as genocide against Uygur Muslims.
• According to a recent UN report, hundreds of militants belonging to the ETIM are converging in Afghanistan amidst the military advances made by the Taliban.
• Xinjiang shares borders with Afghanistan, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir besides Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
• In her media briefing here on Mon, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying commenting for the first time on the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has said: China has noted that the Afghan Taliban said yesterday (Sun) that the war in Afghanistan is over and that they will hold talks aimed at forming an open, inclusive Islamic govt in Afghanistan and take responsible actions to protect the safety of Afghan citizens and foreign diplomatic missions.
• A Taliban delegation headed by the head of its Political Commission Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Chinese city of Tianjin on July 24 during which Wang asked the militant group to make a clean break with all terrorist organizations, especially the ETIM.
• The visit of the Taliban delegation headed by Baradar closely followed Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s visit for talks with Wang.
• China is banking on its all-weather ally Pakistan to pressure the Taliban to prevent the regrouping of ETIM militants on Xinjiang borders to stir up trouble there.
• Critics say China is skeptical about the Taliban’s will and ability to clamp down on groups like al-Qaeda and ETIM due to religious and ideological affiliations.

Johnson, Merkel call PM Imran on the Afghan issue: Prime Minister Khan on Tue received telephone calls from his British counterpart Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel and they exchanged views on the latest situation in Afghanistan.

Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief, Syed Salahuddin, seeks support from the Taliban to attack India: Terrorist organization Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief, Syed Salahuddin, has released an audio message threatening India.

• In this audio message, he requested the Taliban militants for assistance in spreading terrorism in J&K. 
• In the celebratory statement posted online, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin said, “I pray to Allah that he strengthens the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan so that they may support Kashmiris against India.” 
• Meanwhile, despite the Taliban’s conciliatory tone, Afghans and foreigners continue to flee Kabul.
• A top US general says Thu the US has airlifted 7,000 people since evacuations began on Aug 14.

Pak terror groups now present in Kabul, finds Indian assessment: With the Taliban emerging as the dominant force in Afghanistan, including capital Kabul, according to Indian assessment Pakistan based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) have made their presence in parts of the country.

• According to sources, “Pakistani terror groups like LeT have built check posts in some parts of Kabul. There have been reports of looting in Afghanistan’s villages”.
• Sources pointed out that it’s too early to say anything since “assumptions can go wrong”. The state of flux in Afghanistan after the fall of the previous Ghani government and the Taliban entering into the capital, the big question is what next in terms of the governance structure.
• Sources highlighted that “Afghanistan could become the epicenter of Islamic radicalism, which could have a state which is recognized. IS also had territory but that was geographically far”. 
• While the Indian government’s priority is bringing back its nationals, the political development in Afghanistan is also dominating the Indian government’s thought process on the crisis.

Taliban pardon rivals, vow to honor women

• A spokesperson told in a news conference in Kabul that an all-inclusive govt will be formed soon
• Vows Afghanistan’s soil won’t be allowed to be used against anyone
• Another official makes clear India may continue to work in Afghanistan
• Baradar arrives in Kandahar from Doha

India allowed to operate two flights daily to evacuate citizens from Kabul

• Men affiliated with the Taliban have abducted over 150 people, mostly Indian citizens, from an area close to Hamid Karzai International Airport earlier this morning, Sat, a reliable source confirmed to Kabul Now.
• The source, who managed to escape along with his wife and some others, added that the abductees include some Afghan citizens and Afghan Sikhs as well but most of them are Indian citizens.
• He added that they were all boarded on eight minivan vehicles around 01:00 AM, this morning, heading to the Kabul airport for evacuation but they couldn’t enter the airport for lack of cooperation.
• According to the source, a group of “the Taliban who were not armed approached them and then took them all to Tarakhil, an eastern neighborhood in the capital Kabul, after beating them physically.”
• The source added that he, his wife, and few others could manage to escape by throwing themselves down from the windows of the minivans.
• “The Taliban told the passengers that they would take them into the airport from a different gate but their whereabouts are not yet clear,” the source said.
• A Taliban spokesman rejected the allegations regarding the abduction of more than 150 people, mostly Indian citizens, near Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
• He told Kabul Now that the Taliban are present around the airport and do not let people enter it.
• The Taliban have transferred the abductees to the compound of Alkozay Group of Companies, which is located in an area close to the airport, and have collected their passports, a reliable source told Kabul Now.
• The Taliban are now interrogating these people and assured them that they will be transferred back to the Kabul airport once the interrogation is over, the source detailed.

Two sources confirmed to Kabul Now that the Taliban have released all the abductees and they are now on their way back to the Kabul international airport.

India, UN to sign MoU for technology partnership in the peacekeeping mission

India and the UN are set to sign an MoU in support of partnership for technology in peacekeeping mission on Wed.

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and UN chief Antonio Guterres will sign MoU between India and UN in support of partnership for technology in peacekeeping in presence of Secretaries-General, Representatives of Members of UN Security Council, Military Attaches & Special Invitees.
• Jaishankar, who reached New York on Mon to chair high-level events in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and held discussions on Afghanistan.
• Jaishankar reached New York on Mon to preside over two high-level meetings of the UNSC on UN peacekeeping and terrorism. Jaishankar has presided over two high-level meetings on Aug 18-19.
• The first event on Aug 18 will be an open debate on ‘Protecting the Protectors: Technology and Peacekeeping’ while the second event on August 19 will be a high-level briefing on ‘Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts’.
• Both these issues are priorities for India during its UNSC innings.
• The open debate on ‘Peacekeeping’ will focus on the theme of ‘Protecting the Protectors’, including through the use of modern technological tools to enhance the safety and security of Peacekeepers and to aid Peacekeeping Missions to effectuate their mandates effectively and efficiently.
• On 19 Aug, the EAM has also presided over a briefing session on the 6-monthly report of the UN Secretary-General on the threat posed by Islamic State (ISIL/Da’esh), under the agenda item “Threats to International Peace and Security caused by Terrorist Acts”.
• During this visit, Jaishankar would also have bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of other member states on the sidelines of these UNSC high-level events. (ANI)

Blinken, Jaishankar agree to continue ‘close coordination’ over Afghanistan crisis

• In a second conversation within a week, US Secretary of State Blinken spoke with EAM Jaishankar over the phone Thu to discuss the crisis in the conflict-torn country.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and S Jaishankar discussed the chaotic situation in Afghanistan for a second time this week and agreed to continue their close coordination over the matter.
• Blinken and Jaishankar last spoke on Mon and discussed the situation in the conflict-torn country. During their call, Jaishankar underlined the urgency of restoring airport operations in Kabul.”
• The main challenge for travel to and from Afghanistan is the operational status of the Kabul airport.
• On Thu, Jaishankar said that India is working with international partners, principally the US, in bringing stranded Indian nationals back home from Afghanistan.

In response to a question, he said on the issue of where we go on from now with the Taliban in control in Afghanistan, he said: the immediate issue that we are looking at is really the repatriation of our nationals. In India’s case, India’s nationals, other countries have their concerns.

Without naming Pakistan, Jaishankar said we should not lack the courage to call out the ‘double-speak’ when state hospitality is being extended to those with innocents’ blood on their hands.

Jaishankar speaks to German counterpart Heiko Maas on evacuation challenges in Afghanistan

• India has been facing difficulties in evacuating people from Kabul and has been in touch with the US and UK, among other countries, on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan.
• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sat spoke to his German counterpart Heiko Maas on the latest developments in Afghanistan and challenges relating to emergency evacuation from Kabul.
• India has been in touch with the US, the UK, and several other leading powers on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan after Kabul fell to the Taliban on Sun evening.
• Several countries including India have been facing difficulties in evacuating people from Kabul given chaos around the airport in the Afghan capital following the Taliban takeover.
• India on Sat evacuated around 80 Indian nationals from Kabul by a transport military aircraft of Air Force.

Jaishankar, British counterpart Raab agree to join hands to tackle the Afghanistan crisis

• Jaishankar has also held bilateral meetings and discussions with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other foreign ministers, focusing on the situation in Afghanistan.

Jaishankar and his British counterpart Dominic Raab have exchanged views on the developments in Afghanistan and agreed to work together to tackle shared security threats, support refugees, and ease the humanitarian plight of ordinary Afghans.

J&K: Security Forces Eliminate 3 JeM Terrorists In Encounter In Awantipora

• Three unidentified terrorists have been neutralized on Saturday in an encounter between terrorists and the security forces of Jammu and Kashmir’s Awantipora.
• On Sat morning, three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the forest area of Nagbaeran Tral, Awantipora.
• The encounter broke out in the upper reaches of the forest area of Nagbaeran Tral, Awantipora, according to Jammu & Kashmir Police. Three anonymous terrorists linked to the banned terror group JeM have been killed.
• The operation is being carried out by the police and the army.
• The incident occurred just one day after two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen terrorists were killed by security forces during an encounter in the Pampore region of Awantipora, J&K, on Fri morning.
• According to reports, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that one of the two terrorists was engaged in the July 23 assassination of a peon at a govt school in Pastuna.

Musaib Mushtaq of Khrew has been identified. Muzamil Ahmad Rather, a resident of Chakoora, Pulwama, was the second terrorist murdered.