At least three gunmen, all reported to be members of the Taliban, stormed a central Kabul bank on Wednesday morning, and are currently surrounded by police.
India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty with immediate effect, accusing Pakistan of breaching the pact by refusing to negotiate modifications and engaging in sustained cross-border terrorism. The decision follows a recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people. Pakistan has rejected India's move, calling it an "act of war."
The Indus system of rivers comprises the main river -- the Indus -- along with its five left bank tributaries, namely, the Ravi, the Beas, the Sutlej, the Jhelum and the Chenab. The right bank tributary, the Kabul, does not flow through India.
The 'mediation' by the United States from behind the scene on the diplomatic track appears to be once again working, which calls on both Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint and pull back from a military confrontation, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's national flag carrier on Thursday suspended flight operations to Afghanistan due to what it called "security concerns", hours after the Taliban government threatened to ban the airline unless it reduced the fare on the Kabul-Islamabad route to previous levels.
Beijing's growing assertiveness as kingmaker in Kabul has suffered a setback with Washington quietly moving in, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Afghanistan is a beautiful country but has no luck as far as lasting peace is concerned'
Afghanistan will remain a frontline state for Washington for a foreseeable future in terms of the potential threats to US national security from terrorist groups, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
In days of smart, networked technology and no shame over collateral damage, what will blow up next -- cars, mobile phones, TV sets, refrigerators? And where?, asks Shyam G Menon.
A US special envoy met senior Taliban representatives in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and discussed the issue of Afghan central bank reserves.
'Steven MacQueen, who was working for the [Afghan] Ministry of Rural Development and Rehabilitation, was killed last night,' British embassy press officer Colin Ball said.
Trump disclosed that he was to meet the Afghan President and senior Taliban leaders on Sunday at his Camp David retreat.
Asian Development Bank is working on a grand plan to link Kabul with Bangkok and Hanoi through India as a part of its goal to link Asia.
Kabul Chawla's company in India is facing the ire of consumers.
The Talibs appear in complete control of Afghanistan days after American troops left the country.
Women petition the Taliban. Talibs patrol Kabul's streets. Afghans flee into Pakistan.
The embassy said it was 'cognisant' that some may attempt to characterise this move as an internal conflict, allegedly involving diplomats who switched allegiance to the Taliban, adding "that this decision is a result of broader changes in policy and interests".
Security will be a consideration, as would protocol, but given Modi's penchant for the unconventional, it should not come as a surprise if he indeed decides to attend the ceremony in Kabul, says Ramesh Ramachandran.
Pakistan's national flag-carrier on Monday ran its first commercial flight to Kabul since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in mid-August.
The IMF and World Bank have stopped loans, and the FATF warned its 39 member nations to block Taliban assets.
'Our friends are going to get killed. Taliban are going to kill us. Our women are not going to have any more rights'
India has issued a notice to Pakistan for modification of the Indus Waters Treaty of September 1960 following Islamabad's "intransigence" on its implementation
A lake in a shape of a heart surrounded by autumn-coloured trees outside Balashikha, Moscow.
'Today with Taliban at our doorsteps literally, we can't even put up our national flag. Only Allah knows, what will happen to Afghanistan now'
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Regional States will be worried that the US's nascent engagement with the Taliban behind the fig leaf of humanitarian aid enables the return of US intelligence personnel to Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Delhi has come to accept the Taliban takeover in Kabul as a reality and seems increasingly unsure of its dogmatic view of the Taliban as a mere proxy of the Pakistani military and security establishment, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
Pakistan's efforts for the peace process in Afghanistan would be remembered for long, he said.
The US intends first to cripple the Afghan government financially through sanctions, freezing of assets, denial of access to international banking, etc, and then proceed to do pretty much what it wants to do with scant regard for Afghanistan's sovereignty, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Remember the US withdrawal agreement was signed in February 2020. In the intervening period, a proper evacuation plan ought to have been in place. It was not. Consequently, tens of thousands of Afghans who had worked as interpreters, drivers, suppliers of goods and services, etc, face brutal retribution from the Taliban, Virendra Kapoor points out.
Russia and China are tight-fisted and Iran is broke and none of them has the political will or capacity to bankroll the Afghan economy, which only the US can, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
If New Delhi finds itself out in the cold in Afghanistan, both the Congress-led UPA and BJP-led NDA have only themselves to blame. Each has been in power for a full decade from 2001, without reaching out to the Taliban, points out Ajai Shukla.
Like China, India too should connect the dots and move ahead with a long-term perspective in Afghanistan, advises Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'William Mustoe, the director of horticulture during British rule, named the Presidential Palace garden after the Mughals.' 'He simply kept the name because it was made on the pattern of a Mughal garden.''He simply kept the name Mughal gardens because it was made on the pattern of Mughal garden.'
India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Specially designated global terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani, who carries a reward of $10 million US bounty on his head, is the acting interior minister while his uncle -- Khalil Haqqani -- has been named as acting minister for refugees.
The Taliban have been known for using violence to force the people to accept their agenda and views, he added.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in India Thursday evening in the highest-level visit between the two countries after the ties came under severe strain following the eastern Ladakh standoff nearly two years ago.
"Numerous rounds of talks have taken place with the Chinese counterparts to deescalate the situation without compromising on India's stand of 'complete disengagement and immediate restoration of status quo ante'," the defence ministry said.
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