For two decades the US paid in blood and blood money for dependence on Pakistan to carry out one president's boast. Now, having been defeated by its proxies, another president will go into Rawalpindi's embrace to satisfy his constituents, predicts Shekhar Gupta.
ISI chief Faiz Hameed coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government guaranteed to preserve Pakistan's control over the levers of power in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The ineptness of successive American presidents, from Bush the Younger to Joe Biden the Old, combined with the cluelessness that Americans demonstrate in foreign lands, contrasts with the Chinese leadership's seemingly singular focus on the accumulation of wealth and power, asserts T N Ninan.
Karzai, who will be making his second visit to New Delhi in five months, will hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday on the latest developments related to the terror strikes. The main purpose of the visit, which was scheduled during the last few days, is to convey Afghanistan's condolences and solidarity with India in the wake of Mumbai attacks, official sources said.
"But the completion by August 31 depends on the Taliban continuing to cooperate and allow access to the airport for those who were transporting out and no disruptions to our operations," US President Joe Biden said.
The Taliban has its backers, notably Pakistan and China. Their purpose is to have a monstrous entity near India's northern borders to keep democratic, secular India off-guard, observes Amulya Ganguli.
Addressing a press conference, Karzai said Kabul reserved the right to strike Taliban insurgents on Pakistani soil as a form of self-defence. "Afghanistan has the right of self defence. When the Taliban cross the territory from Pakistan to come and kill Afghans and to kill coalition troops, it exactly gives us the right to go back and do the same," Karzai said.
Afghan politician Ali A Jalali, a former interior minister, speaks on the situation in his country.
The daring terror attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on Monday has come at a time when the resurgent Taliban has threatened to escalate a campaign of suicide bombings in an attempt to topple the government of President Hamid Karzai, who was himself targeted by the militants in April.
"Our role (in the Afghan peace process) will remain that of a facilitator and not a leader... allowing the Taliban to open an office in Pakistan will be contrary to our principled position," Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was quoted as saying by an unnamed aide.
In fact, the Taliban apparently collects about 10 per cent as cultivation tax from opium farmers and 15 per cent as heroin tax from laboratories and smugglers that smuggle narcotics into Pakistan. This, by itself, is a revenue stream estimated at USD 250-300 million.
Danish Siddiqui, in his early 40s, was killed during clashes in Spin Boldak district in Kandahar, Tolo News quoted sources as saying.
Pakistan would want to take full advantage of the situation to direct Taliban trained terrorists into the Kashmir Valley, alert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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.
'It was always anticipated that the return of the Taliban would embolden armed Islamists including anti-India groups like the Lashkar and Jaish.'
We bring you a presentation of some of the most unusual photos from around the world in the month gone by
The terrorist attack was carried out by ISIS gunmen, General Kenneth Franklin McKenzie, Commander of the United States Central Command, told reporters at a Pentagon news conference on Thursday, hours after the terrorists opened gunfire at American soldiers standing outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
Images that capture what it was like living through 2021.
A closure of the Indian mission in Kabul will be a Himalayan blunder at this historic juncture when the wheels of diplomacy and politics are set to accelerate in Afghanistan, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
Karzai said Afghanistan wanted India and Pakistan to sort out their problems.
The US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins is stepping down, Secretary of State John Kerry today said amid a political crisis in the war-torn country.
Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh on Saturday met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the two presidential candidates here during which she was assured that Afghanistan was committed to ensuring full safety for the Indian Embassy in Kabul, four consulates and interests irrespective of the orientation of the new leadership.
When asked if he is in Pakistan, the Afghan leader replied: "Probably he is there. That's what the reports say now that come across."
Pakistan on Friday announced it will release former Afghan Taliban deputy chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on Saturday, meeting a long-standing demand of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to advance peace efforts in the war-ravaged country.
'Through the different ups and downs of my country, India has played a great positive role. The Afghan and Indian people should know this,' says Afghan Ambassador Masood Khalili.
Dr Singh's is the first by an Indian prime minister since Indira Gandhi visited Afghanistan in 1976.
The US spent $1.5 million a day since 2001 fighting the opium war in Afghanistan. After hundreds of airstrikes failed to curtail the Taliban's $200-million-a-year opium trade, the US military quietly ended the campaign when the Trump administration officials engaged in direct peace talks with the Taliban, notes Atanu Biswas.
The Taliban had promised an 'inclusive' government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup, but there is no Hazara member in the cabinet.
The United States, Blinken said, is committed to looking at everything done from day one through the present and draw lessons from it.
The Taliban has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack on the presidential palace in Kabul where a press conference was scheduled by President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday. Multiple explosions and gunfire were reported near the presidential palace, which is the site for several important organisations.
Expressing concern over political instability and drug trafficking in Afghanistan, Russia and Pakistan today said the situation could deteriorate further post-2014 after International Security Assistant Forces are withdrawn from the country.
Initial reports state that one person died and three others have been injured.
Like China, India too should connect the dots and move ahead with a long-term perspective in Afghanistan, advises Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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
The key is to act and not wait and watch before the limited window of opportunity shuts, argues Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
The national men's team beat India 2-0 to win the South Asian Football Federation championship in Kathmandu late on Tuesday, Afghanistan's first international football title, sending tens of thousands of joyous Afghans into the streets. Fans in cars and on motorbikes joined others on foot, cheering, blowing horns and waving Afghan flags throughout the night.
New Delhi has consigned to itself the role of the underdog, says Ajai Shukla
'I am committed to my country if there is respect for democracy and human rights. If not possible then I will prefer to stay in India or any other western country'
