Who to blame for Taliban takeover? Former Afghan envoy points finger at Kabul

WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan’s first female ambassador to the United States who left her post in July, is clearly horrified by the Taliban takeover of her country. But she is not surprised.

In an interview, Rahmani accused the former U.S.-backed government in Kabul of a failure to lead the country and of widespread corruption that ultimately paved the way for the Taliban’s victory last month.

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Analysis: The West owes Qatar a favor over Afghanistan. That was the point

DUBAI, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world’s top diplomats have been beating a path to Qatar, long the gateway to the Taliban and now the essential go-between as the West tries to deal with the new Kabul government. This is no accident.

Analysts describe Qatar’s emergence as a broker in Afghanistan as a part of a carefully nurtured strategy by the tiny but rich state to bolster its own security, by becoming indispensable as a venue for international mediation.

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Taliban claim victory in Panjshir, resistance forces deny

Multiple sources (Guardian, VOA) report that the Taliban claim to have taken over the Panjshir valley where

The Taliban posted a video earlier showing them raising their flag in Panjsher. (BBC)

The leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF) denied their announcements on Twitter: