"You can't do anything about it," Rashid Khan conceded as he tried to make sense of Australia's refusal to play bilateral cricket with Afghanistan men's team, which he believes, achieves nothing beyond denying happiness to his people.
'When the Taliban took over there was a genuine fear that they will harm me, but right now that fear is not there.'
In a significant policy statement on the Taliban which is making big gains in its offensive in Afghanistan, China has asked it to make a "clean break" from all terrorist forces, especially the Al Qaida-backed Uyghur Muslim militant group ETIM fighting for the volatile Xinjiang province's independence.
The Taliban will view India through the eyes of the ISI and can be relied upon to undertake hostile actions against this country, warns Virendra Kapoor.
US President Joe Biden said on Monday that he stands "squarely behind his decision" to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan as he blamed the Afghan leadership for giving in to the Taliban without any fight. He also warned the Taliban of swift and forceful response from the US if they attack American personnel or disrupt their operations in Afghanistan.
Due to political uncertainty following the collapse of the former government to the Taliban, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Saturday estimated that 500,000 Afghans will leave the country in the next four months.
'Even during the worst days during the 1990s, India was dealing with the Taliban.'
The journalist was covering clashes between Afghan troops and the Taliban in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city.
Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa, one of Pakistan's largest and oldest seminaries and dubbed as a 'university of jihad' by its critics for helping sow violence across the region for decades, has educated more Taliban leaders than any school in the world and its alumni now hold key positions in Afghanistan, according to a media report.
'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'
"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.
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday said it is too premature to congratulate ourselves over the UN Security Council adopting a resolution on Afghanistan, and cautioned that the possible axis of China, Pakistan and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is a cause for worry.
Hundreds of 'mujahideen' are heading towards the state of Panjshir to control the province, Sputnik reported citing a news agency.
In his brief address, the external affairs minister said India's friendship with Afghanistan is "strong and unshaken" and that no part of the country is untouched by New Delhi's development programmes.
At a joint media briefing with Lavrov, Jaishankar listed issues such as "factors of instability" such as terrorism and its cross-border manifestation and said it remains a "major concern".
"In our statement, we have said that we have told them that we want them to be cognisant of the fact that there should be no terrorism that emanates from their territory directed against us, or other countries; that we want them to be mindful of the status of women, minorities and so on so forth. And, and I think they have, also, you know, made reassuring... from their side," foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said.
Expressing concern over the situation in Afghanistan, a group of eminent persons, including former ministers K Natwar Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Wednesday urged the government to continue engaging with the Taliban and not allow any political party to use the developments in that country to communally polarise Indian society for electoral gains.
"I'll tell you one thing--we are hitting the Taliban right now harder than they've ever been hit," Trump said.
America's relationship with Pakistan has 'not served' either of the two countries, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday raising questions on the Biden administration's approval of a $450-million sustenance package for F-16 fleet.
"When you adopt someone's culture you believe it to be superior and you end up becoming a slave to it," PM Imran Khan said, adding that it creates a system of mental salves that is worse than the actual slavery.
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).
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.
Unlike football, which offends the sensibilities of some very conservative Muslims because it is normally played in shorts, cricket is played in long sleeves and trousers, in line with traditional dress codes. It also bears some resemblance to traditional Afghan children's games involving throwing and using sticks to hit smaller sticks or balls.
Taliban hails US departure from Afghanistan as 'historic moment'.
The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan has held both India and Pakistan responsible for the 'unrest in Kashmir' and has vowed to liberate and establish Islamic Shariah there.
The people cited above said the Indians were taken away for questioning and it is not unusual under the current circumstances.
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.
Media reports also cited the US aid restrictions over the F-16 fighter jets deal between the two countries.
'They didn't speak Hindi or English, but love is a universal language.'
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.
'Afghanistan is a beautiful country but has no luck as far as lasting peace is concerned'
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.
'Pakistan's trump card is that it is the only credible guarantor on the horizon who can reasonably assure the Western world that Afghanistan will not again become the revolving door for international terrorism.' 'Trust Pakistan to play this card optimally,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
According to the data, the total number of persons of concern to UNHCR in India stands at 43,157. Among them, 15,559 refugees and asylum seekers are from Afghanistan.
Players from Afghanistan's female youth soccer teams have arrived in Pakistan and will seek political asylum in third countries amid concern over the status of female athletes under the new Taliban government in Kabul.
"The war in Afghanistan is over, now we will work together to rebuild this country," said Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid at a press conference in Kabul.
A special aircraft of the Indian Air Force was sent on Saturday to bring back the Indian diplomats, officials and other staff members including a group of Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel.
'Americans, after 18 years of war in Afghanistan, have got tired and they want to withdraw for their domestic reasons'
Glimpses of Taliban soldiers at the checkpoint in Kabul, Afghanistan.
A Taliban love triangle has led to a burqa-clad woman been executed in Afghanistan with an AK47 with baying villagers cheering in delight, a media report said.
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