'India won't take anything from Pakistan lying down.'
The US military efforts in Afghanistan were akin to filling a bucket that had gaping holes, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The journalist was covering clashes between Afghan troops and the Taliban in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city.
"So, there was no infiltration of any Afghani Taliban... To that effect, we have been able to control (things)," he said.
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.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Students returned to class in Kabul weeks after the Taliban took over the Afghan capital to find their classrooms divided by a curtain to separate male and female students.
The last 15 days have turned the life of young Afghan television anchor Beheshta Arghand upside down.
The Taliban on Wednesday said that the negotiations with the leaders of the Panjshir province have gone in vain as it is the only province that is still out of the Taliban's reach in the country.
'I am worried that Pakistan will still feel compelled to take substantive military action beyond this apparent drone activity.' 'If so, the crisis could persist for a while more and dangerous days are still ahead.'
At least 12 persons, including four children, were killed and 30 injured as two explosive-laden vehicles rammed into the boundary wall of the main cantonment in Bannu in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday while the army personnel neutralised at least six terrorists.
South Africa Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie said he supported calls for a boycott of Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next month.
China may accord recognition to the new government in Kabul at an early opportunity, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
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.
Blinken said the US will continue to act against those who threaten the country, its people and its allies.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has undergone a significant transformation, evolving from hit-and-run attacks to carrying out sophisticated operations with tactical precision. The group's tactics and targets have become increasingly audacious, targeting security forces, Chinese nationals, and innocent civilians. Experts attribute the BLA's evolution to various factors, including the leadership of Bashir Zeb, the group's growing intelligence network, and its exploitation of the grievances of the Baloch people. The BLA's actions are a cause for concern, as the group's sophisticated attacks pose a major challenge to security forces.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has denied Taliban's claim and said that the resistance forces are present at all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight.
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.
'Siddiqui was alive when the Taliban captured him. The Taliban verified Siddiqui's identity and then executed him, as well as those with him'
The Taliban had promised an 'inclusive' government that represents Afghanistan's complex ethnic makeup, but there is no Hazara member in the cabinet.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
Biden's lengthy remarks on Afghanistan contained no condemnatory references to the Taliban, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Asim Munir and his brand of short-sighted army officers give no inkling of paying heed, changing course or learning lessons from the past, observes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The Indian side expressed readiness to provide extensive humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, Mujahid was quoted as saying by Afghanistan's Tolo News.
Pakistan has too much at stake to allow even an iota of rapprochement between India and the Taliban, says Vivek Gumaste.
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).
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.
"Now we live in a completely independent Afghanistan. The new government will be announced very soon," said Anaamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban's cultural commission, reported Tolo News.
The Taliban is highly pragmatic and would regard it wasteful to resume military offensive to capture Panjshir. The Taliban's preference, historically, has been to keep the military option as the last resort, explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
A Pentagon official concerned with evacuation operations said the reason the Taliban wants to prevent these people from leaving is likely because they intend to punish them for their cooperation with the US.
The key Biden administration included the CIA's deputy director David Cohen and the State Department's special representative for Afghanistan, Tom West.
An Afghan national working at the Indian consulate in Jalalabad sustained injuries when unidentified persons opened fire at his vehicle. India had closed operations at the consulate in 2020 but a number of local staffers were working at the mission. The Afghan staff member of the consulate, identified as Wadood Khan, was reportedly working as a translator. Khan had left Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover and went to India. He reportedly returned to Afghanistan few months back and rejoined the consulate.
Despite international condemnation, the Taliban has resumed the flogging and the public execution of criminals following a decree by the hard-liners' supreme leader.
The world's attention is on the new Taliban and the imminent announcement of an inclusive government in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
'If Pakistan's army wants to escalate violence in Kashmir, they have an unlimited supply of jihadis they can train and send. That's not an issue for them.'
'Taliban have warned that Afghan media outlets should not broadcast the Indian Cricket League due to girls dancing and the presence of female audience and spectators in stadiums.'
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.
'Even during the worst days during the 1990s, India was dealing with the Taliban.'
The Taliban have postponed the formation of a new government in Afghanistan for next week, their spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Saturday, as the insurgent group struggles to give shape to a broad-based and inclusive administration acceptable to the international community.
