Taliban takeover of Afghanistan: implications & next steps for Pakistan

[Iron Shrappenel]

A few weeks ago an Indian member by the name of Virus claimed that the Taliban will never enter Kabul cuz they are cavemen. I challenged him that I will bookmark his claim and come back to it after 3 months but I don't have to wait for 3 months instead the Taliban have captured Kabul just 15 days later.
Here is the screenshot of the conversation:

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Germans:- " we are the best at blitzkrieg "
Taliaban :- " hold my lota "

 

[jamahir]

LOL... You must be delusion. Under Taliban rule, prostitution, homosexual are all banned.
Under Mohammed Omar, this is strictly enforced.

How do you know ? Did you ask the Afghan women about the intricacies of their society under Taliban ?

I as a man wouldn't trust sharing a room with some mullah Talibanis.

Taliban do know in order for them to exist, they can't afford to offend neighboring countries. I am sure they will not welcome any terrorism activities against China.

1. There is the "small" matter of Afghan mineral deposits that are desired by China.

2. Taliban are the next version of the so-called Afghan Mujahideen and then they gave refuge to Al Qaeda. That's their ideology. How do you know for sure that they won't give external political and logistical support to Chinese militant groups and ally with them in activities elsewhere like in Syria ? Taliban fighters have been already taken to the battle grounds of Syria by the American air force.

I am just reminding you what I said.

No, you are being a stubborn troll.

I told you, they didn’t matter, you didn’t believe. Now I am telling you they don’t matter, you are still not believing.

You find them and tell them that they don't matter. All 30,000 of them.

 

[Bilal.]

How do you know ? Did you ask the Afghan women about the intricacies of their society under Taliban ?

I as a man wouldn't trust sharing a room with some mullah Talibanis.



1. There is the "small" matter of Afghan mineral deposits that are desired by China.

2. Taliban are the next version of the so-called Afghan Mujahideen and then they gave refuge to Al Qaeda. That's their ideology. How do you know for sure that they won't give external political and logistical support to Chinese militant groups and ally with them in activities elsewhere like in Syria ? Taliban fighters have been already taken to the battle grounds of Syria by the American air force.



No, you are being a stubborn troll.



You find them and tell them that they don't matter. All 30,000 of them.

Lol… 30,000 imaginary members per wiki and self proclamation on their website, very credible. Yes I am being stubborn troll. The reality is that soon they will over run Afghanistan in a popular proletarian people’s revolution.

 

[jamahir]

Lol… 30,000 imaginary members per wiki and self proclamation on their website, very credible. Yes I am being stubborn troll. The reality is that soon they will over run Afghanistan.

Yes yes, I know you are very happy today because your Taliban idols have over run Kabul.

 

[Bilal.]

Yes yes, I know you are very happy today because your Taliban idols have over run Kabul.

lol… don’t cry. Soon the imaginary SPA’s 30,000 revolutionaries will come out of their underground hidings and turn the table in a popular proletarian people’s revolution.

 

[jamahir]

lol… don’t cry. Soon the imaginary SPA’s 30,000 revolutionaries will come out of their underground hidings and turn the table in a popular proletarian people’s revolution.

OK I am sad this day but I will not cry as you request. And you go have biryani to celebrate your historic day of victory.

 

[itsanufy]

he and Swamy were planning to send a Bollywood crack commando team to Afghanistan to stage a dance score on streets of Kabul to scare away Taliban .. looks like they lost their way

Sir what is the impact on Pakistan and what is your perception about this incident.

 

[MisterSyed]

Call for the Taliban to appeal to their Pakistani cousins, the TTP, for form government in Pakistan.

Haha , Phattu ki jal rahi ha

 

[Osman Devlat]

Just as we speak moments ago Ashraf Ghani, has left the country, and Kabul has fallen. Meaning the remaining contested regions are now left on their own.
President Ashraf Ghani leaves Afghanistan: Live | Joe Biden News | Al Jazeera

 

[Irfan Baloch]

Sir what is the impact on Pakistan and what is your perception about this incident.

termoil
Afghan Taliban wont listen to Pakistan nor Saudis
there is no motivation to listen or understand when they got such stunning and unexpected victory.
Afghan National Army has bee a real embarrassment.

nothing good can come to any country in the region with whats to come . no one group can rule Afghanistan by force by dismissing others. taliban and Northern Alliance tried and failed.
I expect mass exodus of refugees and long civil war among warlords.

 

[Jazzbot]

Fall of Kabul on Indian Independence Day, loving every bit of it.

 

[Osman Devlat]

President Ashraf Ghani has left Afghanistan for Tajikistan as Taliban closes in on Kabul, according to the country’s top peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah.

“The former Afghan president has left the nation,” Abdullah, the head of the High Council for National Reconciliation, said in a video on his Facebook page.

KEEP READING
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Ghani’s departure comes amid negotiations for a peaceful transfer of power after Taliban fighters encircled Kabul after capturing 26 of the country’s 34 provincial capitals in less than two weeks.

Meanwhile, a Taliban official told Reuters they were checking reports about Ghani’s departure from the country.

On Sunday, Taliban troops surrounded Afghanistan’s seat of power, promising it had instructed its fighters to refrain from violence and offer safe passage to anyone wishing to leave Kabul.

Here are all the latest updates:

16 mins ago (14:54 GMT)

Taliban fighters to enter Kabul ‘to prevent looting’: Spokesman
The Taliban said they will enter the capital Kabul to prevent looting after local police deserted their posts, a spokesman for the armed group said late on Sunday.

The statement by Zabihullah Mujahid came shortly after a top Afghan peace envoy said President Ashraf Ghani had left the country.

32 mins ago (14:38 GMT)

Russia does not yet “recognise” Taliban as Afghanistan’s lawful authority
Moscow does not yet recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan’s new lawful authority, RIA state news agency quoted the Russian foreign ministry as saying on Sunday.


The ministry also told RIA that Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani was unlikely to head to Russia after leaving his country.

1 hour ago (13:40 GMT)

In Pictures: Taliban mass ‘at the gates’ of Kabul
Taliban fighters surrounded Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Sunday as the world waited to see what negotiations around a transfer of power would result in.

Taliban forces patrol a street in Herat [Reuters]
The armed group seized nearly all of Afghanistan in just over a week, sending thousands of internally displaced people fleeing the fighting to Kabul, seeking safety.

Taliban fighters and local residents sit on an Afghan National Army vehicle in Laghman province [AFP]
In spite of hundreds of billions of dollars spent by the US and NATO to build up Afghan security forces, the Taliban swiftly defeated, co-opted, or sent Afghan security forces fleeing from wide swaths of the country.

A Taliban fighter stands guard in the city of Ghazni [Reuters]
Fighters remained “at the city’s gates” as sporadic gunfire was heard in streets that were largely quiet.

More photos here.

2 hours ago (13:30 GMT)

Turkey urges efforts to stem Afghan migrant wave
Turkey’s president said his country will work for stability in Afghanistan along with Pakistan, in order to stem a growing migration wave amid the Taliban’s countrywide offensive.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Afghans were increasingly attempting to migrate to Turkey via Iran, urging an international effort to bring stability to the country and prevent mass migration.

Erdogan was speaking at a naval ceremony with Pakistan’s president. He said Pakistan had a “vital task” to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, where clashes have intensified. Turkish-Pakistani cooperation would be needed for this, and Turkey would use all possibilities to do so, Erdogan added.

2 hours ago (13:14 GMT)

Iran sets up camps along Afghanistan border as Taliban advance
Iran said it has prepared accommodation in three provinces bordering Afghanistan to provide temporary refuge to Afghans fleeing the conflict in their country.

“Camps have been built in border areas in three provinces,” Interior Ministry official Hossein Qasemi told Iran’s state news agency IRNA.

But he added that: “We expect those Afghan refugees to return home when the situation improves in Afghanistan.”

Thousands have been displaced by the latest conflict between government forces and Taliban fighters [Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu]
Afghanistan’s oil-rich western neighbour Iran has for years been a destination for Afghans seeking work or fleeing war. But the state of Iran’s economy, long stifled by US sanctions, has persuaded Tehran to encourage many of the more than two million Afghan refugees in the country to return home.

2 hours ago (12:50 GMT)

World reacts as Taliban closes in on Afghan capital
World reaction was swift after the Taliban closed in on Kabul as a takeover by the armed group appeared imminent on Sunday.

Click here to read about how regional and world powers reacted to the news.

3 hours ago (12:39 GMT)

NATO maintains diplomatic presence in Kabul
NATO is maintaining its diplomatic presence in Kabul and helping to keep the city’s airport running, a NATO official told Reuters.

“NATO is constantly assessing developments in Afghanistan,” the official said.

“The security of our personnel is paramount, and we continue to adjust as necessary. We support Afghan efforts to find a political solution to the conflict, which is now more urgent than ever.”

Afghans who work at different offices rush to homes after news broke that Taliban reached on the outskirts of Kabul, in Kabul, Afghanistan [EPA]
3 hours ago (12:24 GMT)

Spain says hurrying plans to airlift nationals
Spain’s defense ministry says it has not yet begun evacuating Spanish nationals and Afghan staff including translators who are expected to be flown out alongside its citizens, but was speeding up its plans.

In an emailed statement it said that “the evacuation plan for Afghanistan is being accelerated to the maximum,” adding that “details are finalised on logistics and the people who will be evacuated,” but they cannot give more details for security reasons.

3 hours ago (12:17 GMT)

Ten maps to understand Afghanistan
Over the past few days, the Taliban has taken 26 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals.

The armed group now controls an estimated 65 percent of the country’s territory. At least 244,000 people have been internally displaced since the beginning of May, when the Taliban group began multiple offensives against the Western-backed Afghan government.

Here are 10 maps to help you understand Afghanistan.

3 hours ago (12:01 GMT)

Taliban expects peaceful transition of power in days
Suhail Shaheen, international media spokesman for the Taliban, said the group expects a peaceful transition of power in the next few days.

“We assure the people, particularly in the city of Kabul, that their properties, their lives are safe,” the spokesman said in an interview with the BBC.

“Our leadership had instructed our forces to remain at the gates of Kabul, not to enter the city.

“We are awaiting a peaceful transfer of power,” he said, adding the Taliban expected that to happen in a matter of days.

Afghan security officials stand guard at a checkpoint in Kabul [EPA-EFE]
3 hours ago (11:54 GMT)

Pakistan closely following developments in Afghanistan: foreign ministry spokesman
Pakistan said it was closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and making all the necessary arrangements to facilitate the evacuation of its citizens and foreign nationals from the country.

“Pakistan is closely following the unfolding situation in Afghanistan. Pakistan will continue to support the efforts for political settlement. We hope all Afghan sides will work together to resolve this internal political crisis,” foreign ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.

“The Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul is extending necessary assistance to Pakistanis, Afghan nationals and diplomatic and international community for consular work and coordination of PIA flights.”

“A special inter-ministerial cell has been established in the Ministry of Interior to facilitate visa/arrival matters for diplomatic personnel, UN agencies, international organisations, media and others.”

Internally displaced families from northern provinces, who fled from their homes due to the fighting between Taliban and Afghan security forces, take shelter in a public park in Kabul [Hedayatullah Amid/EPA-EFE]
4 hours ago (11:31 GMT)

Germany sending A400M planes for Kabul evacuation
Germany’s army is sending A400M transport aircraft to Kabul with 30 paratroopers each on board to evacuate embassy staff and their Afghan helpers as Taliban fighters surround the Afghan capital, Bild am Sonntag reported.

The Sunday paper cited unspecified sources as saying the planes would shuttle to a nearby hub, likely the Uzbek capital Tashkent, for onward charter flights.

A defence ministry spokesman said that an evacuation mission had been prepared through the night with the greatest urgency, but he declined to comment further on the newspaper report.






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4 hours ago (11:21 GMT)

US unlikely to change military strategy unless evacuation impacted: official
The United States is unlikely to change its military strategy in Kabul unless the Taliban impact the evacuation of the embassy, a US official said.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the United States had not yet seen the Taliban enter Kabul in a major way

4 hours ago (10:41 GMT)

Pope Francis urges dialogue in Afghanistan
Pope Francis has called for dialogue to end the conflict in Afghanistan so its people can live in peace, security and reciprocal respect.

“I join in the unanimous worry about the situation in Afghanistan. I ask you to pray along with me to the God of peace so that the din of weapons ends and that solutions can be found around a table of dialogue,” he said to pilgrims and tourists in St Peter’s Square.

“Only this way can the martyred population of that country – men, women, elderly and children – return to their homes and live in peace and security in full reciprocal respect,” he said.

5 hours ago (10:17 GMT)

UK parliament to be recalled next week to discuss Afghanistan
The British parliament will be recalled from its summer recess next week to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, Sky News reported.

Taliban fighters and local people sit on an Afghan National Army vehicle on a street in Jalalabad [AFP]
5 hours ago (10:11 GMT)

President Ghani still in Afghanistan: Source
A source close to President Ashraf Ghani has denied reports that he has fled the country, saying the president spent most of the morning in the garden of the ARG Presidential Palace with the first lady.

5 hours ago (10:01 GMT)

Afghanistan will have a ‘peaceful transfer of power’: interior minister
Afghan Minister of the Interior Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal says there will be a “peaceful transfer of power” to a transitional government after the Taliban ordered its fighters to hold back from entering Kabul.

“The Afghan people should not worry… There will be no attack on the city and there will be a peaceful transfer of power to the transitional government,” he said in a recorded speech.

Mirzakwal said talks were under way to ensure a peaceful transfer of power [Afghan interior ministry via Reuters]
5 hours ago (09:56 GMT)

Russia says emergency UN meeting on Afghanistan is planned
Russia is working with other countries to hold an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Afghanistan as the Taliban continues its military takeover of the country, foreign ministry official Zamir Kabulov told Russian news agencies.

“We are working on this,” Kabulov said.

5 hours ago (09:43 GMT)

Calm reigns in Kabul as Taliban, gov’t prepare to hold talks
The panic in the city of Kabul seems to have largely dissipated as most residents return to their homes and the heavy traffic clears.

The Taliban stated that they will not take Kabul by force and the Ministry of Interior confirmed that the armed group was at the city’s gates but not the main city itself.

Likewise, officials have told media a peaceful transition of power is expected, as the Taliban had previously stated.

The Taliban have said that they do not plan to take the capital city by force [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]
6 hours ago (09:22 GMT)

UK says it is working to evacuate citizens, former staff
Britain is working to protect its citizens and help other eligible former UK staff to leave Afghanistan, the interior ministry said in a tweet.

“Home Office (interior ministry) officials are right now working to protect British nationals and help former UK staff and other eligible people travel to the UK.”

6 hours ago (09:13 GMT)

Taliban spokesman: Group has not yet entered Kabul
Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s international media spokesman, told Al Jazeera that the group has not just yet entered Kabul city and is counting on the government’s cooperation for the peaceful transfer of power.

“There will be essential arrangement for the maintenance of security of the city so that personal property … is not harmed.

“A local province which is close to Kabul has fallen to us, and also other districts near Kabul. [Our forces] are a few kilometres away from the outskirts of the city.”

6 hours ago (08:56 GMT)

Taliban source confirms group has entered Kabul
A Taliban source has confirmed to Al Jazeera that the group has entered the province of Kabul.

“He said that the leadership is asking everybody to be calm, that they come with a message of peace,” said Al Jazeera’s Charlotte Bellis, reporting from Kabul.

“He said that we have no intention of fighting, that government buildings are safe, and that they have been instructed that if anybody does want to leave the city, that they should be given safe passage.”

7 hours ago (08:20 GMT)

Taliban leadership says Afghan capital will not be taken by force
The Taliban have released a statement online saying they have instructed their forces not to cross the gates of Kabul and take the city by force.

Instead, they say, “negotiations are under way to ensure that the transition process is completed safely and securely, without compromising the lives, property and honour of anyone, and without compromising the lives of Kabulis.”

They also released another statement trying to reassure banks, merchants and other entrepreneurs that their property, money and institutions will not be disturbed by the armed group.

Despite the online assurances, people continue to leave the city streets and try to find ways to head home.

7 hours ago (08:15 GMT)

Senior government official urges calm
President Ghani’s chief of staff has taken to Twitter to urge the people of Kabul: “Please don’t worry. There is no problem. The situation of Kabul is under control.”

The tweet comes as the Taliban have entered Kabul province and surrounded the Afghan capital.

Ghani has not been heard from since he gave a short, pre-recorded address to the nation Saturday afternoon.

Taliban fighters and local people are pictured along the street in Jalalabad province [AFP] (AFP)
7 hours ago (08:02 GMT)

Taliban begin entering Kabul: Afghan interior ministry
The Taliban have begun entering the Afghan capital Kabul from all sides, the Afghan interior ministry said.

A Taliban leader in Doha said the group ordered its fighters to refrain from violence and allow safe passage to anyone seeking to leave, and has asked women to head to “protected areas”.

7 hours ago (07:41 GMT)

Taliban take provincial capital of Khost
An Afghan official and the Taliban say the armed group’s fighters have seized the provincial capital of Khost.

A provincial council member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed the capture to the Associated Press.

It leaves Afghanistan’s central government in control of just Kabul and five other provincial capitals out of the country’s 34.

Helicopters landing at the US Embassy in Kabul and vehicles leave the compound as the Taliban advance [Rahmat Gul/AP]
8 hours ago (07:32 GMT)

Pakistan closes Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan
Pakistan has closed the Torkham crossing with Afghanistan after the Taliban’s takeover of the Afghan side of the border, Pakistan Minister of the Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said.

8 hours ago (07:27 GMT)

Afghan civilians flee rural areas
Early on Sunday, refugees from Taliban-controlled provinces have been seen unloading belongings from taxis as families stood outside embassy gates and the city’s downtown filled up with people stocking up on supplies.

Hundreds of people slept huddled in tents or in the open in the city, by roadsides or in car parks, a resident said.

“You can see the fear in their faces.”






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8 hours ago (06:59 GMT)

Taliban takes provincial Afghan capital just west of Kabul
An Afghan lawmaker and the Taliban say fighters have seized a provincial capital just west of Kabul.

The Taliban took Maidan Shahr, capital of Maidan Wardak province, on Sunday. It is about 90km (55 miles) from the national capital Kabul.

9 hours ago (06:32 GMT)

Taliban capture district in Kabul
After taking the provinces of Nangarhar and Laghman overnight, the Taliban have captured the Sarobi district, an hour east of the capital. It marks the first district in the province of Kabul to be taken by the armed group.

10 hours ago (05:34 GMT)

Taliban seize control of Nangarhar

 

[Bilal.]

OK I am sad this day but I will not cry as you request. And you go have biryani to celebrate your historic day of victory.

Buy me one from a good resturant. Oh wait, private businesses not allowed.

 

[Titanium100]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1426924640518119432

 

[Silverblaze]

Fallen?

Why are we copying india and others?

Please change this 'fallen' to "Reclaimed".

Kabul has been " Reclaimed". Many of us dont agree with the Taliban interpretation but the fact is Taliban deserved it and they " Reclaimed" their govt back.