The US has hailed a power-sharing deal between rival Afghan presidential candidates as a "moment of extraordinary statesmanship" that ended a prolonged dispute threatening to plunge the war-torn nation into further political turmoil and complicate the NATO troops withdrawal.
Twenty to thirty rockets landed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in the centre of Kabul, Tolo news reported. There are no reports of causalities yet.
An ISIS-Khorasan planner was killed in a "counterterrorism" operation conducted by US military forces in the Nangahar province, a day after a terror attack in Kabul killed scores of people including 13 US troops.
Haider's release was the second successful instance of a dramatic rescue in a high-profile kidnapping case after slain Punjab governor Salman Taseer's son Shahbaz, who was abducted in 2011, was found in March after spending nearly five years in captivity.
As the western forces prepare to leave Afghanistan in the coming year, India stands at a crossroads where it remains keen to preserve its interests in Afghanistan but has refused to step up its role as a regional security provider. New Delhi needs to recognise that there is no short-cut to major power status, says Harsh V Pant
Britain on Thursday warned that there was a 'very credible' report of an 'imminent' terrorist attack by the Islamic State terrorists targeting those gathering at Kabul airport in an attempt to flee war-torn Afghanistan.
The key Biden administration included the CIA's deputy director David Cohen and the State Department's special representative for Afghanistan, Tom West.
Three of them are believed to have died in "friendly fire" by Afghan security forces. Another staffer was burnt in a fire that was caused by exploding grenades, the Board of Inquiry revealed.
In a statement, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said US President Joe Biden was briefed about the rocket attack by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chief of Staff Ron Klain.
'From what evidence has come up, General Bajwa somehow managed to tell the Americans that I was anti-American.' 'And so, it [the plan to oust me] wasn't imported from there. It was exported from here to there.'
Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst who was one of the key architects of US President Barack Obama's Af-Pak policy during his first term, has called for an offensive strategy against terrorist networks and this includes hitting out at terrorist groups inside Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday directed officials to ensure safe evacuation of all Indian citizens from Afghanistan and to provide refuge to Sikhs and Hindus wanting to come to India from there, as he chaired a crucial high-level meeting in the backdrop of the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country, sources said.
The Biden administration has approved a $450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan to help it meet current and future counterterrorism threats, in Washington's first major security assistance to Islamabad in four years.
A blunt warning sent by US President Barack Obama in November 2009, prompted Pakistan to go after the Afghan Taliban leadership, and is being cited as the turning point in the strategic relationship between the two countries.
Former Indian diplomats on Monday termed the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan as a "setback" for India strategically, and asserted that the priority for New Delhi right now should be to evacuate its citizens from the war-torn nation.
In the second-biggest city of Kandahar, a long line of green armoured vehicles was driven in single file on Wednesday, with the group's flags attached to it, Dawn reported cities agencies.
Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States Eklil Ahmad Hakimi has not ruled out the possibility of India training Afghanistan's security forces and national army sometime in the future if the necessity arises.
The Western powers appear to regard Delhi as the most logical destination in the region in these extraordinary times -- as a counterpoint to the ascendance of political Islam and a rising red star over Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The trilateral alliance between India, Afghanistan and Iran on the strategic Chabahar port is a security threat to Pakistan, defence experts in Islamabad have said and asked the government to use diplomatic manoeuvres to avert falling into an "abyss of isolation".
The decision was taken during a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Pakistan counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi in the southwestern the Chinese city of Chengdu on Saturday.
If Afghanistan is going to make any gains through democratic reforms, the newly elected president must start with addressing corruption at all levels of government and developing a comprehensive government financing plan independent of American support.
Atmar briefed Jaishankar about the situation in the war-torn country amid growing security concerns over the Taliban fighters rapidly seizing control of a large number of areas, forcing many countries to scale down their presence there.
'Overall as a team, they cannot be seen as walkover. They're very competitive as a one-day and T20 side. They keep proving it over and over again'
'The Delhi-Washington stalemate can end only if India's concern over trans-border terrorism is addressed.' 'The Indian security establishment expects a spike in terrorist attacks in the months ahead.' 'And there is every likelihood that India may retaliate against Pakistan at some point,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"Op Devi Shakti in action! @IAF_MC flight with 24 Indian and 11 Nepalese evacuees from Kabul is on its way to Delhi. #DeviShakti," external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted in the morning.
Despite dependence on the ISI for years of sustenance, Taliban leaders may harbour resentment over the ISI's excessive control, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
Afghanistan is "heading towards civil war" and terror group Al Qaeda "will probably come back" as the security situation in the region continues to deteriorate, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday.
"The killing of Abdul Rehman alias Fauji Bhai alias Fauji Baba, a Pakistani national, is a big success for security forces as he was a master in assembling improvised explosive devices for JeM," Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar told reporters in Srinagar.
Intelligence agencies have warned of a possible terror threat ahead during the Republic Day celebrations by Pakistan-based terror groups who may use Afghan IDs to sneak into India and carry out attacks.
Afghanistan officials are trying to shield their athletes from trouble brewing back home as the war-ravaged country chases its first Asian Games gold in Indonesia.
Addressing the UNSC High Level Open Debate on 'Peacebuilding and sustaining peace: Diversity, state building and the search for peace', Muraleedharan said the expectations of the international community on Afghanistan, including on combating terrorism, are set out clearly in the UN Security Council Resolution 2593, that was adopted under India's Presidency of the 15-nation Council in August.
The state of the relationship between India and China will reflect the state of the border, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday, referring to the lingering standoff in eastern Ladakh.
The Council adopted the resolution proposed by France, the United Kingdom and the United States with 13 Council members voting in favour and Russia and China abstaining.
Peace and reconciliation cannot go forward in an atmosphere of terror, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin said in the United Nations on Tuesday.
Pakistan is in 'constant touch' with the Afghan Taliban for safeguarding the country's security interests, a top military official has said.
Former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who fled to the United Arab Emirates before the Taliban seized power last month, on Wednesday apologised to the people for leaving the country abruptly, saying he believed it was the 'only way to keep the guns silent and save Kabul and her six million people'.
Biden's authorisation of 5,000 troops in his statement on Saturday included 1,000 who are already on the ground in Afghanistan, according to a defence official. A battalion of 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division were redirected to Kabul, instead of their original standby position in Kuwait.
The aircraft landed at Dushanbe in Tajikistan after evacuating the Indians, they said, adding the flight is expected to arrive at the Hindon airbase near Delhi in the evening.
The rankings were prepared after examining the volume of terrorist and rebel alerts, messaging traffic, videos, photos, incidents and the number of killed and injured in a country over the past 30 days.
Jaishankar also emphasised the need for ensuring that Kabul's neighbours are not "threatened by terrorism, separatism and extremism".
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