Blinkin said the US will engage with the Taliban not on the basis of what a Taliban-led government says, but what it does to live up to its commitments.
Special envoys of China, Russia and Pakistan have met the top officials of the Taliban's interim government as well as Afghan leaders Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah in Kabul and discussed the formation of an inclusive government, combating terrorism and humanitarian situation, a top Chinese official said on Wednesday.
After two decades, the SCO appears to be at a cross-roads with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, asserts Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
India, along with some other members, objected to the proposal and due to lack of consensus or concurrence, the meet has been cancelled.
"We want to establish a government that includes all sides," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah said, adding that they want an end to the war.
"The Taliban have been cooperative in facilitating the departure of American citizens and lawful permanent residents on charter flights from HKIA. They have shown flexibility, and they have been businesslike and professional in our dealings with them in this effort. This is a positive first step," Emily Horne, Spokesperson of the National Security Council, the White House said.
Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban leader freed from a Pakistani jail on the request of the US less than three years ago, has emerged as an "undisputed victor" of the 20-year war in Afghanistan, according to a British media report.
Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat on Wednesday asserted that any possible terrorist activity flowing out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and finding its way into India will be firmly dealt with, and suggested that the Quad nations should boost cooperation in the global war on terrorism.
'It appears on the face of it that the Taliban of 2021 is not the same Taliban of 2001. There appears to be some difference. They are making mature statements. That is something we have to take note of,' former external affairs minister Yashwant Sinha said
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.
Samajwadi Party member of Parliament Shafiqur Rehman Barq has been booked for sedition following his recent remarks allegedly defending the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and equating it with India's own freedom struggle, police said on Wednesday.
Amid India's concerns that Afghanistan's territory might be used for anti-India activities under the Taliban regime, the terror group has said that it has the right to raise its voice for Muslims anywhere, including in Kashmir. However, it added that the group does not have a policy of raising arms against any country.
"Everything is moving in the wrong direction," a source familiar with the new intelligence assessment told the paper.
China's Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu and Acting Minister of Refugee Affairs of the Afghan caretaker government Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani attended the handover ceremony at the airport.
Australian foreign minister Marise Payne and defence minister Peter Dutton will visit India from September 10 to 12 to take part in the dialogue with their Indian counterparts.
'It has been 14 years since I began living in exile and it's shocking that the situation in Balochistan has only worsened rather than improved.'
Gen Ahmadzai was scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday on a three-day visit to explore ways to deepen bilateral military ties in the backdrop of the Taliban carrying out offensive operations across Afghanistan following the withdrawal of foreign forces.
'The consensus was that the debate was between looking backward and looking forward.' 'Trump, with his great enamourment of his own 'achievements,' was obviously looking backward, while Harris, nearly 20 years his junior, was focussing on the future, with hope,' notes Shreekant Sambrani.
Amid deepening concerns in China over the regrouping of the ETIM, blamed by Beijing for all the violent attacks in its volatile Xinjiang province and elsewhere in the country, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Mullah Baradar at Tianjin and sought to prevail on him to build a 'positive image and establish a broad and inclusive political structure that suits Afghanistan's national realities'.
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.
IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack begins by asking why the hijack lasted seven days and ends in wondering if the good guys fought the bad ones hard enough, observes Sukanya Verma.
They have been booked under different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, IT Act and CrPC, a senior police officer said.
'We are f#^*@d' Democrats told CNN after Biden's poor performance.
"The Taliban want an Islamic country. These people want to make a Hindu Rashtra," the lyricist said without naming the RSS.
Nearly 23 officials signed the cable that went to Blinken and Director of Policy Planning Salman Ahmad, The Wall Street Journal added.
For Afghans in India, including medical tourists from the war-torn country as well as migrants and refugees staying here much longer, the safety of friends and families is the biggest concern - particularly for those linked to the now collapsed government or who have had work ties with the US.
'We have been bold and innovative on recognition in the past and we do not need to rush,' advises Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Pak's role in Kabul is not sending a good message to India, a top American lawmaker has said
The last commercial flight between India and Afghanistan was operated by Air India on Kabul-Delhi route on August 15, the day Kabul fell to the Taliban.
Today, Pakistan and Afghanistan are feeling disturbed because of the Taliban, Yogi said.
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.
The officials said the freed Taliban leaders include Sheikh Abdur Rahim and Mawlawi Abdur Rashid, who had served as the insurgent group's governors of Kunar and Nimroz provinces respectively during the Taliban administration before it was deposed by the US-led forces in 2001.
A Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party MLA over the weekend hit out at Akhtar and said no film involving him will be allowed to be screened till he apologises for his remarks.
Johnson said "formidable" challenges remain around the evacuation of British nationals and supporters from Kabul airport but the situation was getting "slightly better".
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.
The Taliban have been known for using violence to force the people to accept their agenda and views, he added.
Supporting the Taliban means supporting anti-India, anti-humanity, anti-women and anti-children acts, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday, cautioning people to be wary of sympathisers of the Islamic extremist group.
An uptick has been noticed in the number of foreign terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir post the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan but the overall strength of militants in the valley is low and can be capped below 200, outgoing CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh said on Thursday.
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 is a nuclear country.' 'With the kind of situation that is there in Pakistan today, America will help Pakistan stay afloat.'
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