Afghanistan crisis live updates: 'Afghan evacuee flights halted from two key bases'

An estimated 200 foreigners, including Americans, left Afghanistan on a commercial flight out of Kabul on Thursday with the cooperation of the Taliban the first such large-scale departure since US forces completed their frantic withdrawal over a week ago. The Qatar Airways flight to Doha marked a breakthrough in the bumpy coordination between the US and Afghanistan's new rulers. A dayslong standoff over charter planes at another airport has left hundreds of mostly Afghan people stranded, waiting for Taliban permission to leave.

Bamiyan's cultural centre should have been completed last month, showcasing the remarkable heritage of a site that Afghanistan's Taliban desecrated two decades ago by dynamiting ancient statues of Buddha. But the red carpet celebrations will have to wait. After the Taliban swept triumphantly into the capital Kabul, everything was put on hold. "Everything is suspended," said Philippe Delanghe, from UNESCO, the UN's cultural agency, who said they are awaiting the decisions of the new regime.

UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded for nations to continue dialogue with the Taliban, during an interview with AFP Thursday, as he expressed fears that the hardline Islamists' return to power in Afghanistan could embolden jihadists in the Sahel."We must maintain a dialogue with the Taliban, where we affirm our principles directly -- a dialogue with a feeling of solidarity with the Afghan people," he said.

A UN high-ranking official has called on the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to respect the rights of women."Women have a right to peaceful protest and to a life free of violence. In taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban authorities assume a duty to respect and protect these rights," Xinhua news agency quoted Pramila Patten, officer-in-charge of UN Women, as saying."I am shocked and outraged by the images of women in Afghanistan being whipped, hit with shock batons and beaten simply for exercising their right to peaceful protest. I stand in solidarity with all Afghan women who are fighting for the respect of their fundamental rights and freedoms," said Patten.

Afghanistan is occupying diplomatic and strategic mindspace in India’s international engagements this week. Speaking with journalists on the eve of the inaugural “2+2” meeting between foreign and defence ministers of Australia and India, Australia slammed the new Taliban government for putting terrorists in its cabinet and keeping women out of the government. Australia’s high commissioner to India Barry O’ Farrell said, Canberra was “disappointed at the lack of inclusion in the Taliban government — no women, no ethnic minorities like Hazaras and no members of the previous government.”

The interim Taliban government does not reflect what the international community and the United States hoped to see, the Biden Administration said on Thursday."We have spoken about our reaction to the initial caretaker government. You have heard us say that the lack of inclusivity, the track records, the backgrounds of some of the individuals involved, are a cause for concern. It certainly does not reflect what the international community and what, as a part of that, the United States hoped to see," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his news conference.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded with the international community, during an interview with AFP, to maintain a dialogue with the Taliban in Afghanistan, warning that an "economic collapse" with possibly millions dying must be avoided.

Top Republican Senators on Thursday slammed President Joe Biden for his policy on Afghanistan and said that this has made the country less secure and empowered foes like China.“It has long been the policy of the United States to not differentiate between evil terrorists, and the governments who support and harbor them. Under the failed leadership of President Joe Biden, that is no longer the case,” Senator Rick Scott said.This week, even after the Taliban announced the appointment of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani Network and a known terrorist who is wanted by the FBI for the murder of American citizens, the Biden administration continued its shameful Taliban appeasement, he rued.

The United States has a message for the Taliban: If it lives up to all its commitments, brings greater stability to Afghanistan and the region, demonstrates widespread inclusion, and protects the gains of the last 20 years ``we'll work with it.''But U.S. deputy ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis, who delivered the message at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday, stressed that ``any legitimacy and support will have to be earned.''

An estimated 200 foreigners, including Americans, left Afghanistan on a commercial flight out of Kabul on Thursday with the cooperation of the Taliban _ the first such large-scale departure since U.S. forces completed their frantic withdrawal over a week ago.The Qatar Airways flight to Doha marked a breakthrough in the bumpy coordination between the U.S. and Afghanistan's new rulers. A dayslong standoff over charter planes at another airport has left hundreds of mostly Afghan people stranded, waiting for Taliban permission to leave.

A UN envoy on Thursday urged the world to keep money flowing into Afghanistan despite concerns over the Taliban government, warning the country could otherwise suffer a historic breakdown.Deborah Lyons, the secretary-general's special representative on Afghanistan, called on the world at least to give a chance to the victorious Taliban as the Islamist insurgents turn to governance and confront a dire economic crisis."A modus vivendi must be found -- and quickly -- that allows money to flow to Afghanistan to prevent a total breakdown of the economy and social order," Lyons told a Security Council meeting.

The Taliban accused the United States on Thursday of violating the peace agreement inked between the two in February 2020 in Doha by keeping its new interior minister, Sirrajudin Haqqani, on its terror list.The statement was issued by the new Afghan government hours before some 200 people, including Americans, left the war-battered country in the first international commercial flight to depart Kabul airport, for Qatar, since US forces left Afghanistan 10 days ago.The Doha deal had paved the way for the exit of US-led foreign forces in return for a guarantee from the Taliban not to allow groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIL to operate on Afghan soil. In the wake of the deal, the US had pledged to remove Taliban members from international terror lists.

The US does not look at the impact of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan through an "India lens", the US state department’s Hindi and Urdu language spokesperson, Zed Tarar, said, responding to a question from TOI as to whether the US was concerned about the impact of the Taliban takeover on India’s national security."Afghanistan’s stability does influence the entire region," Tarar said. "We want to partner with our allies to try and see that the situation in Afghanistan does not deteriorate and that people in Afghanistan have a bright future," he added.

Pakistan's foreign minister says the world community should not take steps that risk an economic collapse in Afghanistan. At a news conference in Islamabad alongside Qatari counterpart Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qureshi did not name any single country. But Qureshi said no strings should be attached to humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan. The Taliban government currently does not have access to the Afghanistan central bank's $9 billion in reserves, most of which is held by the New York Federal Reserve.