Tag: Taliban

  • ISI Chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed arrives in Kabul on invitation of Taliban Shura

    ISI Chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed arrives in Kabul on invitation of Taliban Shura

    Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed arrived in Kabul this morning, leading a delegation of senior Pakistani officials.

    Gen Faiz Hameed is in Kabul to hold talks with the Taliban’s top leadership, including Mullah Baradar, who is tipped to head the Taliban’s future government.

    Baradar, who heads the Taliban’s political office, will be joined by Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, the son of late Taliban founder Mullah Omar, and Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, in senior positions in the government, three sources said.

    “All the top leaders have arrived in Kabul, where preparations are in final stages to announce the new government,” one Taliban official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity.

    Taliban forces have taken full control of Afghanistan, including the Panjshir Valley where opposition forces had been holding out, three Taliban sources said on Friday as heavy celebratory gunfire was heard in the Afghan capital.

  • Taliban have taken control of Panjshir: Sources

    Taliban have taken control of Panjshir: Sources

    Taliban forces have taken full control of Afghanistan, including the Panjshir Valley, three Taliban sources said on Friday, reported Dawn.

    “By the grace of Allah Almighty, we are in control of entire Afghanistan. The troublemakers have been defeated and Panjshir is now under our command,” said one Taliban commander.

    Former vice president Amrullah Saleh, one of the leaders of the opposition forces, told Tolo News that reports he had fled the country were lies.

    Meanwhile, the Taliban are due to form a government within days despite fighting in Panjshir Valley.

    China confirmed the country will be keeping its embassy in Kabul open.

    “We hope the Taliban will establish an open and inclusive political structure, pursue moderate and stable domestic and foreign policy and make a clean break with all terrorist groups,” foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.

  • Taliban paint over mural demolishing art in Afghanistan

    Taliban paint over mural demolishing art in Afghanistan

    Activist Omaid Sharifi took to Twitter to share how the Taliban have started painting over murals in Afghanistan.

    He tweeted, “And it begun. The Taliban have started painting over our murals.”

    They started with the historic one that marked the signing of #DohaDeal. #BaradarKhalilzadMural is no more. Instead, the black and white message says don’t trust the enemy’s propaganda, quoting Mullah Haibatullah,” read the tweet.

    Twitter reacted when Omaid shared the pictures on the platform.

    Journalist Magda Gad tweeted, “Staden förändras varje dag [The city changes every day].”

    Journalist Amie Ferris-Rotman tweeted, “First they whitewashed images of women. Now they’re going for the art.”

    A Twitter user wrote, “These Taliban terrorists are intent on destroying joy. They want to extinguish everything that makes us human.”

    Journalist Lyse Doucet tweeted, “The face of the city is changing .. the colour and character of #Kabul erased #Afghanistan.”

    Prior to this, images of women were covered up or vandalised on storefronts around Kabul. One of the salons in Kabul was whitewashed to cover up advertisements pasted on its outdoor walls, showing the faces of smiling women in bridal regalia.

  • US refuses to acknowledge claim that Pakistan involved in Taliban attack on Kabul

     The United States (US) State Department distances itself from former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s claim that 10-15,000 Pakistanis had joined the Taliban attack on Kabul, reported Dawn.

    US State Department spokesperson Ned Price, when asked to comment on Ghani’s claim, said, “I’m just not in a position to comment on that, to confirm those reports.”

    “If we have anything more, we’ll provide it,” said Price when asked if he would comment on another claim that the Taliban forces now in Kabul include foreign troops.

    “We’re enormously grateful to the huge network of countries that have provided critical assistance for our evacuation efforts,” said Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland.

    Praising the countries, she named Pakistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey, and the UAE among the countries that supported the evacuation. She also named America’s key European allies – Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and others – “who have helped transit Americans and others to safety”.

    “Our close coordination with our allies and partners remains critical both on evacuation and relocation, but also as we begin to scope our ongoing relationship with the Afghan people and with the Taliban,” she said.

  • Video: Naseeruddin Shah bashes Indian Muslims for celebrating ‘the return of Taliban’

    Video: Naseeruddin Shah bashes Indian Muslims for celebrating ‘the return of Taliban’

    Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah has criticised “sections of Indian Muslims celebrating the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan”, and called it rather dangerous.

    In a recent video, the Mohra actor drew distinctions between ‘Hindustani Islam’ and what is practised in other parts of the world.

    “Even as the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan is a cause for concern for the whole world, celebrations of the barbarians by some sections of Indian Muslims is no less dangerous,” Shah said in a video shared on social media.

    A Wednesday actor went on to say that those who are celebrating the revival of Taliban, should question themselves, “if they want a reformed, modern Islam (jiddat pasandi modernity), or live with the old barbarism (vaishipan) of the past few centuries.”

    Shah also differentiated between what he called “Hindustani Islam” and what is actually practised in other parts of the world.

    He added, “May God not bring a time when it changes so much that we cannot even recognise it. He mentioned his own personal relationship with God, and that he doesn’t need political religion. “I am an Indian Muslim and as Mirza Ghalib said years ago, my relationship with God is informal. I don’t need political religion,” he said.

    Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan on August 15 after seizing control from government forces across the country.

  • Taliban secretly escorted Americans to Kabul Airport in deal with US

    Taliban secretly escorted Americans to Kabul Airport in deal with US

    The US military negotiated a secret arrangement with the Taliban that resulted in members of the militant group escorting clusters of Americans to the gates of the Kabul airport as they sought to escape Afghanistan, two defence officials told CNN.

    One of the officials also revealed that US special operations forces set up a “secret gate” at the airport and established “call centres” to guide Americans through the evacuation process. One of the military officials said the arrangement with the Taliban “worked beautifully”.

    Americans involved in an unofficial network dedicated to helping Americans and vulnerable Afghans said there were problems — particularly in the beginning — as the Taliban turned away US citizens and legal permanent residents the militant group was supposed to allow through.

    The two US defence officials said Americans were notified to gather at pre-set “muster points” close to the airport where the Taliban would check their credentials and take them a short distance to a gate manned by American forces who were standing by to let them inside amid huge crowds of Afghans seeking to flee. The US troops were able to see the Americans approach with their Taliban escorts as they progressed through the crowds, presumably ready to intervene in case anything happened.

  • Fully armed Taliban stand by Afghan anchor during political debate

    Fully armed Taliban stand by Afghan anchor during political debate

    A video went viral on Twitter a few days ago when Mirwais Haqdost, Afghanistan Television (TV) presenter, was seen conducting a debate in the presence of fully armed Taliban soldiers standing behind him.

    A total of eight soldiers were present on the show, fully armed when the TV host presented his set of news.

    Talking to an Afghan television later, the presenter said, ” When the program was broadcast, some threatened me by saying you mocked Mujahiddin.”

    “Although I gave the questions and they wrote the answers on paper before the program,” added Haqdost.

    Twitter reacted to the video questioning the freedom that the Taliban promised saying that people could live and work in Afghanistan without any fear and threats.

    A journalist said, “Free press. Taliban’s version of it.”

    Journalist Suzanne Kianpour tweeted, ” During which he’s asking the Afghan people to work together with the ‘Islamic Emirate’… flanked by armed Taliban soldiers #Afghanistan.”

    Anti-Modi activist and feminist, Kavita Krishnan tweeted, “The world over, parody is dead because reality has killed it. Do not be afraid, the anchor tells viewers as armed Taliban soldiers stand behind him, careful to show themselves on camera to the viewers.”

    She further added,”This scene would make for a brilliant semiotics class.”

  • 20 years of war ends as US forces leave Afghanistan

    20 years of war ends as US forces leave Afghanistan

    Celebratory gunfire echoed across Kabul as Taliban fighters took control of the war-torn country following the withdrawal of the last United States (US) troops, ending 20 years of war.

    Speaking to reporters from Kabul airport on Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: “We do not have any doubt that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is a free and sovereign nation.”

    “America was defeated… and on behalf of my nation, we want to have good relations with the rest of the world,” he said.

    Officials said the last C17 aircraft took off with the US ambassador onboard after midnight local time on Tuesday.

    They added that the diplomatic mission to assist those unable to leave before the deadline would continue.

    The US and its allies have mounted the biggest air evacuation in history, bringing 114,000 of their own citizens and Afghans who helped them over 20 years of war in Afghanistan, but they will still leave behind thousands of Afghans who helped Western countries and might have qualified for evacuation.

  • Taliban will not let Afghan soil be used against any other country: DG ISPR

    Taliban will not let Afghan soil be used against any other country: DG ISPR

    Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj-Gen Babar Iftikhar on Friday, during a press conference in Rawalpindi, said that the Taliban have said they will not let Afghan soil be used against any other country and “we have to take them at their word”.

    The military spokesperson said Pakistan had already taken the necessary measures to guard the border and ensure security in the country, as the situation in war-torn Afghanistan moves at a rapid pace.

    Maj-Gen Iftikhar elaborated that Pakistan had reached out to Afghanistan on multiple occasions to formalise border mechanisms, as it was felt that was the answer to the instability existing along the Pak-Afghan border.

    “The political and military leadership in Pakistan had the foresight that something like this (Taliban takeover in Afghanistan) could happen. So, despite whatever has happened on that side (Afghanistan), the situation on the Pak-Afghan border is normal and under control.”

    “This does not mean nothing can happen but we are prepared and won’t be caught unaware,” he added.

    Pakistan had apprehensions that the situation would unfold in the way that it did and there could be a “spillover”, which is why it took the steps it did, he elaborated.

    So far, 113 flights — both military and commercial — have landed in Pakistan from Afghanistan, he added.

    “While we were involved in this war on terror during the last two decades, we have had three major escalations on the eastern border. At the peak of this period, there were more than 90 terrorist incidents taking place in a year in Pakistan.”

    “After two decades, we can say we have fought off the menace of terrorism very well with the whole-of-nation approach. All these operations are the epitome of insurmountable spirit and supreme sacrifice of the whole nation’s efforts.”

    Responding to another question, DG ISPR said there was no military-to-military contact with other countries for now. However, reports of India using wild animals to attack and conduct surveillance along the Line of Control (LoC) were “concerning”, he said.

    “I hope the world holds them responsible for stooping so low. We are aware of those surveillance means and taking our measures to counter that.”

    Replying to another question, he said that while there was “always a fear of a civil war” taking place in Afghanistan, the situation is volatile and nothing can be said about it as of now.

    “However, right now, there is no civil war in Afghanistan,” he said.

    He said that Pakistan is “hoping for the best” in terms of normalisation of the situation in Afghanistan but would not like to “speculate anything”.

  • Music to be banned in public in Afghanistan: Taliban

    Music to be banned in public in Afghanistan: Taliban

    In an interview with The New York Times, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed that music in public will once again be banned in Afghanistan following the group’s rapid takeover of the country in recent weeks.

    He also addressed the issue of music in public, which was banned during the Taliban’s previous stint in power between 1996 and 2001, suggesting it will soon be prohibited.

    “Music is forbidden in Islam,” Mujahid said.

    “But we’re hoping that we can persuade people not to do such things, instead of pressuring them,” he said.

    Cassette tapes were destroyed and strung up on trees, according to The Associated Press.

    An exception was made for some vocal religious pieces, however. Afghan radio and TV stations have been playing only Islamic songs amid the Taliban takeover of the country.