The United States is going to retain a laser focus on its counterterrorism mission in Afghanistan, President Joe Biden said on Friday, and warned the Taliban of a forceful response to any attack on American forces or disruption of its operations at the Kabul airport.
Cut off from the world and having to contend with an orthodox and repressive Taliban government, Afghans are facing the brunt of Pakistan's decades old policy of nurturing militant groups, note Harsh V Pant and Kriti M Shah four months after the Taliban took Kabul.
We should be prepared for a phase of increased tensions in India-Pakistan relationship thanks to the evolving situation in Afghanistan, says Shyam Saran.
'India would not like to see Pakistani domination and tutelage of Afghanistan against Indian security and economic interests.'
Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday dashed off to Afghanistan to seek extradition of Taliban leader Mullah Fazlluah, whose group claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on an army school in Peshawar, which left 141 people, mostly children, dead.
"Now, our 20-year military presence in Afghanistan has ended," he said, thanking armed forces for their execution of the dangerous retrograde from Afghanistan as scheduled -- in the early hours of Tuesday (August 31) -- with no further loss of American lives.
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.
Top security czars of India, Russia, Iran and five central Asian countries on Wednesday pledged to work for ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for global terrorism and called for the formation of an open and truly inclusive government in Kabul.
The IMF and World Bank have stopped loans, and the FATF warned its 39 member nations to block Taliban assets.
Deputy director for the People's Liberation Army Office for International Military Cooperation Major General Huang Xueping held a video conference with his US counterpart Michael Chase last week.
India and the US also made a strong push for the intra-Afghan peace process to end violence in Afghanistan and ensure that it does not become home to terrorism, and vowed to deepen cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and on COVID-19 response and economic recovery.
'We're paying them nothing because that's what they've done to help us. Nothing'
The United States has announced the end of its 20-year-old war in Afghanistan as the last American military flight flew out of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul shortly before the August 31 deadline.
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Taliban failed to honour Doha accord, never renounced Al-Qaeda: US general Mark Milley
President Barack Obama has said that the United States will reduce its troops to 9,800 in Afghanistan by the end of this year before a complete withdrawal takes place by the end of 2016.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
The United States, Blinken said, is committed to looking at everything done from day one through the present and draw lessons from it.
The Biden Administration on Monday said it was now focused on completing its evacuation mission from Afghanistan by August 31, the deadline for removing all American troops from the country.
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.
The United States has announced a bounty of $30 million for information leading to the location of five key leaders of the Haqqani militant network, held responsible for several attacks on civilians and NATO forces in Afghanistan.
The United States has begun a new diplomatic mission in Afghanistan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as the US withdrew its last troops from the country ending the 20-year war in the South Asian nation.
The two sides are also expected to explore ways to deepen defence collaboration, including exercises, defence transfers and technologies ahead of the next edition of the 2+2 defence and foreign ministerial dialogue to be held in the US later this year, they said.
The agency had received Rs 946.51 crore to manage its affairs in the Budget Estimates for 2023-24, which was later increased to Rs 968.86 crore in the Revised Estimates.
India's national security strategy needs to be revised periodically since the global and regional geopolitical situation is dynamic, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The current Indo-Pak crisis over Kashmir is a godsend for the US. With tensions running high, Pakistan is in no position to militarily help the Taliban. Once this realisation dawns on the Taliban, they are likely to be more amenable to a compromise on American terms, says Colonel Anil Athale (retired).
India also called for crippling the illicit drug trade which provides financial sustenance to these terror outfits.
A day after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces transferred security responsibilities to Afghan authorities, the United States has said will continue to work with India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to further strengthen the regional security.
India has the ability in all respects to be a great power and address our security challenges in the best national interests, says Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
With Hamid Karzai stonewalling every US effort to conclude a bilateral security agreement, the Obama Administration is pinning its hopes on India to persuade the Afghan President to sign the deal and end the current political imbroglio on the issue.
With the Afghanistan government in Kabul approaching Islamabad for help in opening "reconciliation" talks with the Taliban, a Pakistani role in shaping the political landscape in Afghanistan is now an uncomfortable likelihood for New Delhi.
The future can only get better if we continue to break silos and work as integrated teams focussed on promoting national interests, recommends Sanjeev Nayyar.
India on Tuesday made a strong pitch for a positive and constructive approach from neighbours of Afghanistan including an end to support for violence as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Afghan President Ashraf Ghani discussed key issues including security and connectivity.
'Five months after the elections in February 2024, the Pakistan army has not been able to break Imran Khan's resolve and break his political party.'
Describing Central Asia as India's "extended neighbourhood", Doval said New Delhi accords "highest priority" to this region, adding Afghanistan is an important issue "concerning all of us".
Captain Sharan and Flight Engineer Anil Jaggia both confirm that the hijackers seemed to know a lot about flying an aircraft. Without help from the ISI or the Pakistan army, it was impossible, points out Utkarsh Mishra.
'Obama's decision to end the US military involvement in the Afghan civil war needs to be welcomed as a positive development for regional security and stability. India, too, has a great opportunity opening up here if it plays its cards in sync with the spirit of the times rather than continuing to view the Afghan problem in zero-sum terms,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Representatives from the United States and Qatar, the UN, China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the EU, Germany, India, Norway, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan joined a regional conclave on Thursday to discuss ways to contain the escalating security situation in Afghanistan.
The T20 World Cup 2024 promises to be a tournament dominated by bowlers, particularly spinners.
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.
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