Source: Reuters
AHMEDABAD, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Indian officials said on Tuesday they had seized nearly three tonnes of heroin originating from Afghanistan worth an estimated 200 billion rupees ($2.72 billion) amid the chaos following last month’s takeover of the country by the Taliban.
Afghanistan is the world’s biggest illicit opiate supplier, but since taking power, the Islamist Taliban have said they plan to ban the drug trade, without giving details on how.
Source: Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS — Pakistan’s foreign minister says Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers should understand that if they want recognition and assistance in rebuilding the war-battered country “they have to be more sensitive and more receptive to international opinion and norms.”
Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Monday evening that countries are watching to see how things evolve in Afghanistan before considering recognition. He says, “I don’t think anyone is in a rush to recognize at this stage.”
Source: Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — Top U.S. national security officials on Tuesday said they were concerned about the threat posed by foreign terrorist groups following American military forces’ chaotic exit last month from Afghanistan.
National Counterterrorism Center Director Christine Abizaid testified before Congress that the Taliban’s reemergence and takeover of Afghanistan could set the stage for terrorist groups to rebuild there. The Taliban sheltered Al Qaeda as the group planned the Sept. 11 attacks.
Source: Politico Europe
ROME — The West’s war in Afghanistan is far from over.
That was the central message from Afghanistan’s ambassador to Italy, Khaled Ahmad Zekriya, during a recent interview at the country’s embassy in Rome.
Western forces may have pulled out of the country, he said, but that has only created a new set of issues that U.S. President Joe Biden and others will now be forced to deal with.
“I’m going to be very clear,” Zekriya said. “Contrary to what Biden says, America’s war has not ended — a very complex war has started.”
Source: Guardian
At least three people have been killed and more than 18 people injured in three explosions in Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province.
It is reported that the intended target may have been a passing convoy of the Taliban in the provincial capital. It is the first attack in the province since the Taliban came into power in mid-August.
Continue reading Three killed in explosions in Jalalabad, eastern AfghanistanSource: Guardian
The US mistakenly targeted and killed an innocent aid worker for an American company in a drone strike in Afghanistan, the New York Times suggested in an investigation into the country’s final military action of the recently concluded 20-year war.
Continue reading US drone strike mistakenly targeted Afghan aid worker, investigation findsSource: The Hill
Nearly 30 more Americans were evacuated from Afghanistan via a charter flight, the State Department announced Saturday.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement on Saturday that a Qatar Airways charter flight departed Kabul on Friday with 28 U.S. citizens and seven lawful permanent residents.
Continue reading Nearly 30 more Americans evacuated from AfghanistanSource: CNN
Wakil’s eyes fill with tears. He has no idea whether he and his family will get out of Afghanistan, and fears that if they don’t the Taliban will hunt him down and kill him. A former US government employee, Wakil is not his real name; he spoke to CNN on the condition that his identify would not be revealed
Continue reading ‘They didn’t betray us yet,’ says stranded Afghan ally with enduring hope of US rescueSource: The Independent
Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of quietly slashing the number of Afghan refugees to be admitted to the UK by 10 per cent under a scheme set up to protect those fleeing the country following the pullout of international troops last month.
Continue reading Government accused of lowering cap on Afghan refugees by 10 per centSource: BBC
The Taliban have excluded girls from Afghan secondary schools, with only boys and male teachers allowed back into classrooms.
Schoolgirls told the BBC they were devastated not to be returning. “Everything looks very dark,” one said.
Taliban officials who seized power last month said they were working to reach a decision on the matter.
Many fear a return of the regime of the 1990s when the Taliban severely restricted girls’ and women’s rights.