Afghanistan - The Purbottar

18 Nov

India joins Moscow talks for inclusive govt. in Kabul

Business Correspondent0 CommentsInternational, PoliticalAfghanistan, INDIA, Russia

India attended the current meeting of the ‘Moscow format consultations on Afghanistan’ which was carried on Wednesday in the Moscow. Joint Secretary, J.P. Singh, represented India at the talks. “During the meeting, the partaker focused on matters in connection to Afghanistan, including the present humanitarian condition and the continuous efforts of different stakeholders to provide cooperation, intra-Afghan talks, creation of an inclusive and representative government, efforts to oppose threats of terrorism and ensuring regional security,” said the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement. India’s participation in the talks was established by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on 8th of…

18 Sep

Taliban replace women’s ministry with Ministry of Virtue and Vice, employees locked out

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghanistan, Women’s safety

The Taliban have replaced the country’s ministry for women with an office for what is known as the group’s moral police, residents of Kabul have said, as videos showed female former employees of the department apparently locked out of the building. Workers in Kabul were photographed on Friday replacing the sign on the women’s ministry building with a new one, which read, in a mixture of Dari and Arabic, “Ministries of Prayer and Guidance and the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”. The Taliban has earlier carried out anti-human rights activities in Afghanistan during its rule between 1996 to…

14 Sep

India willing to stand by Afghan people as it did in the past: Jaishankar

editor0 CommentsIndia, InternationalAfghanistan, S Jaishankar

With a grave humanitarian crisis unfolding in Afghanistan, India on Monday said it is willing to stand by Afghans and called for unimpeded access to aid providers to the country as also a "non-discriminatory" distribution of relief supplies across all sections of the society. “Today, I wish to underline that in the face of a grave emerging situation, India is willing to stand by the Afghan people, just as in the past,” he added. The world community must come together to create the “best possible enabling environment” for helping the Afghan people and addressing challenges such as efficient logistics in…

04 Sep

Google locks Afghan government accounts as Taliban seek emails: Source

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghanistan, Google

Google has temporarily locked down an unspecified number of Afghan government email accounts, according to a person familiar with the matter, as fears grow over the digital paper trail left by former officials and their international partners. In the weeks since the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan from a U.S.-backed government, reports have highlighted how biometric and Afghan payroll databases might be exploited by the new rulers to hunt their enemies. In a statement on Friday, Alphabet Inc's Google stopped short of confirming that Afghan government accounts were being locked down, saying that the company was monitoring the situation in…

01 Sep

UNSC resolution addresses ‘key concerns’ on Afghanistan: India

editor0 CommentsIndia, InternationalAfghanistan, Taliban

Despite the abstention of two “P-5” countries, Russia and China, from the India-led United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2593, the Government of India said it was a “matter of satisfaction” that the resolution, addressed India's “key concerns” on Afghanistan. According official sources, the resolution, which called on the Taliban to keep its commitments on preventing terror groups in Afghanistan and urged them to assist the safe evacuations of all Afghan nationals wishing to leave the country, was the result of careful coordination and “high-level official contacts with UNSC members, including a call to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken,…

30 Aug

All parties should establish contact with the Taliban and guide it actively

editor0 CommentsNorth EastAfghanistan, Taliban

China has told the US that the Afghanistan situation has undergone fundamental changes and it is necessary for 'all parties' to make contact with the Taliban and 'guide it actively', reiterating that America's troop withdrawal may provide an opportunity for the resurgence of terrorist groups. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday, discussed the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan amidst chaotic airlifts of Afghan civilians and diplomats by the US and NATO countries before the August 31 deadline. Wang and Blinken also discussed bilateral ties which were riddled with tensions…

25 Aug

E-visa must for Afghan nationals travelling to India: Home Ministry

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghanistan, INDIA

All Afghan nationals must travel to India only on e-visa, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on Wednesday. “Owing to the prevailing security situation in Afghanistan and streamlining of the visa process by introducing the e-Emergency X-Misc visa, it has been decided that all Afghan nationals henceforth must travel to India only on e-visa”, the MHA said in a statement. Earlier, the Centre had announced that it would “facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan” and said Hindus and Sikhs from the country will be given priority. Keeping in view some reports that certain…

24 Aug

CIA Chief Held Secret Meeting Yesterday With Taliban In Kabul: Report

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghanistan, Taliban

America's top spy held a secret meeting with the Taliban's de facto leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Kabul on Monday in the highest-level face-to-face encounter between the two sides since the militant group seized the Afghan capital, a media report said on Tuesday. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, two weeks before the US was set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. This forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country to the UAE. CIA Director William J. Burns held a secret meeting in Kabul on Monday with Baradar in the highest-level…

23 Aug

Afghanistan: Rescued Sikhs carrying 3 Guru Granth Sahib Ji to India on IAF aircraft

editor0 CommentsNorth EastAfghanistan, IAF aircraft

Afghanistan crisis, evacuation: India is carrying a daunting mission to evacuate its citizens from Afghanistan ever since the Taliban seized control of the war-ravaged country on August 15. The Indian Air Force has also operated a number of rescue flights from Kabul bringing back hundreds of stranded Afghan Hindus and Sikhs. According to the latest report, 46 Afghan Hindus and Sikhs with three Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (holy book) are currently inside the Kabul Airport and are being escorted by international forces to the Indian Air Force aircraft on ground. In the next few hours, more people will be…

23 Aug

1 Afghan guard killed, 3 injured in new ‘gunfight’ at Kabul Airport

editor0 CommentsInternationalAfghanistan, Taliban

A firefight broke out between unidentified gunmen, Western security forces and Afghan guards at the North Gate of Kabul airport on Monday, Germany’s armed forces said, as thousands of Afghans and foreigners thronged the airport, seeking to flee Taliban rule. One Afghan guard was killed and three others were injured in the battle, which also involved US and German forces, the German military said on Twitter, without specifying whether the dead Afghan was one of the Taliban fighters deployed to guard the airport. The airport has been a scene of chaos since the Taliban seized the Afghan capital on Aug.…